OREANDA-NEWS. Bruce Ashby is to step down as oneworld CEO later this year, after more than five years leading the world’s most highly prized airline alliance.

He has made himself available to stay at oneworld’s helm until June to enable a seamless handover to his successor.

After accepting his resignation, the oneworld Governing Board began an appointment process to fill his position.  Candidates from within the alliance and from outside will be considered.

Announcing his decision to move on, Bruce Ashby said: “It has been a privilege to lead oneworld and work with its collection of the world’s leading airlines, but after five years in this role it makes sense for me to move on at this time.”

oneworld Governing Board Chairman Ivan Chu, CEO of Cathay Pacific, added: “Bruce Ashby has led oneworld through a period of tremendous transformation, as the alliance added many more great member airlines, introduced more attractive services and benefits for our most loyal customers and increased the revenues generated for all our member airlines.  On behalf of us all, I thank him for his outstanding contribution and for offering to stay on as we identify his successor.”

Since taking up his oneworld role in December 2010, as its central alliance team relocated from Vancouver to New York, Bruce Ashby has headed the group through the biggest and fastest expansion undertaken by any global airline alliance.  During this time, oneworld added more than 15 carriers as full or affiliate members, expanding the alliance’s capacity by almost 60 per cent and its annual passenger carryings by 75 per cent.  These recruits included:

  • TAM Airlines, the leading airline in Latin America’s leading economy Brazil, consolidating oneworld’s position as the continent’s top alliance.
  • US Airways, which made oneworld the leading alliance in the USA, the world’s biggest single air travel market.  US Airways has since been integrated into oneworld founding member American Airlines.
  • Qatar Airways, which is the only one of the Big Three Gulf carriers to join any global airline group, making oneworld the leading alliance in the Middle East, one of the world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
  • airberlin, the second biggest airline in Europe’s largest economy, Germany, and one of the continent’s biggest carriers.
  • Malaysia Airlines, one of South East Asia’s top carriers.
  • SriLankan Airlines, the first carrier from the Indian sub-continent to join any of the global airline groups.
  • Significant additional affiliate members, including LAN Colombia and OpenSkies.

He will move on as oneworld has consolidated its standing as the world’s most awarded airline alliance, as the current holder of eight best airline alliance titles – twice as many as its competitors combined.

Before joining the alliance, Bruce Ashby had been CEO of IndiGo, leading what has since become India’s biggest airline for its initial three years, at its formation and through its launch, and then CEO of Saudi Arabian start-up SAMA Airlines.  Previously, he worked for 16 years in the US airline industry, holding senior positions with US Airways, United Airlines and Delta Airlines.