Malév: One Year With oneworld

Thanks to the alliance the scope of the Malév Duna Club frequent flyer programme has expanded considerably, as a result of which the number of regular customers flying with the company jumped by over 30% in just one year. The pace of growth is well illustrated by the event staged in the Palace of Arts, Budapest recently welcoming the company's 100,000th frequent flyer.

Malév joined oneworld on 1 April 2007. The leading airline alliance numbers key industry players among its members: American Airlines, British Airways, Spanish Iberia, South American LAN, Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong, Australian Qantas, Japan Airlines, Finnair and Royal Jordanian, which has an extensive network spanning the Middle East. Thanks to alliance membership, customers of Malév enjoy numerous benefits and are eligible for high quality services around the world. 

The alliance route network comprises some 700 destinations in nearly 150 countries; travellers are guaranteed secure access and an outstanding standard of in-flight service to these cities in the combined fleet of 2500 aircraft operated by oneworld airlines. If, for instance, a person is interested in flying from Budapest to major urban centres or remote holiday resorts in South America or Australia, or even Asia, then this is possible using a single electronic ticket that can be booked in a Malév office or through a sales partner.

Thanks to oneworld membership the Malév route network expands by a further 12 American domestic destinations from 1 April, accessible from Budapest with a single transfer from the Malév New York flight to domestic connections operated by American Airlines. Malév, in partnership with Iberia, operates two daily flights to Madrid, from where it is then possible to take Iberia domestic flights operating with the MA Hungarian airline code to a further four popular Spanish destinations (Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Malaga). 

Cooperation established with JAL (which joined the alliance at the same time as Malév) allows Malév to offer excellent connections to Japan via Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Under an agreement with British Airways passengers of the Hungarian flag carrier can now choose between two airports when they fly out to London; those who are not continuing on long-haul flights of British Airways, which depart from Heathrow, are advised to buy tickets for flights in and out of the less heavily trafficked Gatwick airport. Malév operates a joint flight between Budapest-Amman with Royal Jordanian, another new member of oneworld, opening up the possibility not only of Amman but also convenient onward connections to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Members of the alliance provide transit travellers with excellent connections especially considering the fact that they operate out of the same terminal, or adjacent terminals at the world's largest airports, thereby reducing transfer times. 

From the aspect of Malév passengers, one of the greatest benefits of membership is that alliance frequent flyers - and therefore members of Malév Duna Club, too - can collect, and use, loyalty Bonus Points on all oneworld flights!
It is particularly significant that Malév regular passengers holding premium-tier cards (Silver, Gold or Platinum) are entitled - when travelling with any oneworld airline - to use the exclusive airport lounges of member airlines, of which there are some 500 worldwide, and among which many are considered in the industry to be the very best in the world.

To mark the first anniversary of membership Malév is launching an online competition on 1 April 2008. Naturally, the competition revolves around questions concerning the oneworld alliance and the many benefits of alliance membership. For anyone who is not yet a Malév Duna Club member but would like to take part in the competition, it is easy to make an application on the competition website, because for the first time online registrations for the airline's loyalty programme are being accepted during the duration of the competition. 

Having registered, the next step is to answer 10 questions correctly, clues to which can be found in pictorial and textual hints posted on the website. Several prizes are drawn from among those submitting correct answers: air tickets for Malév European destinations, frequent flyer Bonus Points and Malév gift packages. Further details on the competition are given at www.malev.hu/oneworld

With Malév and the oneworld alliance, the world truly does open up for those travellers who would like to access any part of the world safely and conveniently from Budapest.

Member airlines of oneworld: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Finnair, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, Malév.

In 2007, 170,000 travel experts from more than 200 countries voted the oneworld alliance the "World's Leading Airline Alliance" for the fifth time."

Source: Malev