The Indian #AvGeekInside oneworld Alliance feat. Roger Blackburn & Gilbert Ott
Fifteen airlines. One alliance. Millions of frequent flyers. And a rather complicated question: how do you make it all work as one? For Episode 82 of The Indian AvGeek, our Diwali Special, Vishal Mehra is joined by two people who understand the machinery behind oneworld better than anybody: Roger Blackburn, VP Commercial & Loyalty, and Gilbert Ott, Director, Loyalty. We get into the questions that rarely make it into airline press releases. Why doesn't oneworld have an Indian member airline? Could Delhi or Mumbai eventually get a dedicated oneworld lounge? Who actually pays when four different airlines are involved in delivering one passenger's journey? And what happens to airline loyalty when AI agents start booking flights on our behalf? Gilbert, who made his name scrutinising airline loyalty programmes, discusses Alaska's Atmos Rewards, the future of elite recognition, the economics of miles and credit cards, and whether frequent flyers should expect more personalised benefits. Roger takes us behind the commercial relationships that hold an alliance together, from competing member airlines and joint ventures to the Taj Hotels partnership, Philippine Airlines' planned entry and new opportunities in India. There are also some unexpected detours into Oman Air, noodles, global Wi-Fi and what both executives would change about oneworld if they could. www.TheIndianGeek.com Vishal on X - https://x.com/vishal1mehra Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vishal1mehra/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishal1mehra/ The Indian AdGeek streams on all podcast apps.
