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  • oneworld in 2026

    (If you’re new here, welcome. Spheres is where I post news and commentary about flying with oneworld and whatever goes along with that. You can also get these posts in a free newsletter. One email per week.)

    Here are the routes, planes, services, and other changes that caught my eye for 2026.

    oneworld

    Alaska

    American

    British

    Cathay

    Fiji

    Finnair

    Iberia

    JAL

    Malaysia

    Oman

    • New routes from Muscat to Singapore, Copenhagen (via Baghdad), and Taif
    • Retiring the B737-800 and 900-ER

    Qantas

    • New routes between the Gold Coast to Auckland; Sydney to Samoa (via Auckland), and Port Moresby
    • New lounges: refurbished Business lounge in Los Angeles,4 new lounge in Hobart, and refurbished regional lounges
    • Free wifi on international routes flown by the A330, B787, and A380
    • Project Sunrise test flights

    Qatar

    Royal Air Maroc

    Royal Jordanian

    SriLankan

    —

    1. If there is a new member airline from India, it will be IndiGo. The only other major airline, Air India, is a Star Alliance member. IndiGo partnered with four SkyTeam members in June, but it also has ties with American, British, JAL, Qantas, and Qatar. ↩︎
    2. Alaska and American are following the same playbook for wifi: it’s free because a cellular network is sponsoring it, and you’ll only get it if you’re a member of the airline’s loyalty program. I hope they’ll spare members of each other’s programs or non-US oneworld airlines from having to sign up for an account that will never get used. ↩︎
    3. Ditto. ↩︎
    4. The concept photo suggests that the iconic Eames Lounge Chairs aren’t coming along for the ride. ↩︎

  • American has the lowest drinking water quality, maybe

    A new report circulating on travel sites and Reddit has bad news for American fliers:

    The 2026 Airline Water Study ranks 10 major and 11 regional airlines by the quality of water they provided onboard flights during a three-year study period (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025). Each airline was given a “Water Safety Score” (5.00 = highest rating, 0.00 = lowest) based on five weighted criteria, including violations per aircraft, Maximum Contaminant Level violations for E. coli, indicator-positive rates, public notices, and disinfecting and flushing frequency. A score of 3.5 or better indicates that the airline has relatively safe, clean water and earns a Grade A or B.

    “Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines win the top spots with the safest water in the sky, and Alaska Airlines finishes No. 3,” says Charles Platkin, PhD, JD, MPH, director of the Center for Food as Medicine and Longevity.

    The airlines with the worst score are American Airlines and JetBlue, the study shows. “Nearly all regional airlines need to improve their onboard water safety, with the exception of GoJet Airlines,” Platkin says.

    The study is based on records submitted to the EPA by the airlines under the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule, as outlined by the author in a lengthy methodology statement.

    Still, we don’t know much about the non-profit behind the study. I couldn’t find references to it in any major news publication; the only report it publishes that seems to get any traction is this annual study. It has some legitimate advisors, but its website also has photo after photo of unlabeled AI slop.

    Even putting this study aside, travelers regularly wonder where the drinking water and ice comes from on airplanes.

    Seems like the perfect place for American’s new Customer Experience unit to go to work. Reassure customers that drinking water comes from a safe source instead of letting reports like these do the work for them. If there is a problem, it’s relatively cheap to solve. There are new champagne and coffee partnerships. Why not the most ubiquitous drink on board as well?

  • Monocle: How New York airports are making US air travel great again

    Henry Rees-Sheridan:

    At $8bn (€7bn), LaGuardia’s redevelopment was one of the most expensive airport projects in US history. But it is dwarfed in cost and scale by the ongoing redevelopment of JFK, which is focused on two largely independent terminal refurbishments. A new Terminal 1 will cater exclusively to international passengers, while a redeveloped Terminal 6 will serve domestic and international routes.

    …For Barry Yanku of architecture firm Corgan, the project’s lead designer, the challenge is to create a sense of civic grandeur, as Saarinen managed, while meeting the technical requirements of a modern terminal. “This is our front door here in New York,” he says. There is hope that if the JFK project is successful, it will prove the effectiveness of public-private partnerships as a way of funding airports and provide inspiration for other long-maligned American hubs. 

    LGA is still hamstrung by poor ground connectivity, but deserves every award it’s been given. Meanwhile, the new JFK terminals look fantastic. One caveat: Cathay and Qatar travelers with a domestic connection will soon have to change terminals, since those airlines are moving out of T8, while American and the newly-moved-in Alaska are staying put.

  • Qantas’ new lounge in Auckland opens today

    Qantas previewed the lounge for Stuff.co.nz last week. A dramatic improvement over the old space:

    • Redesigned by David Caon with “living walls,” neutral tones, and new artworks
    • Restaurant dining for First & Emerald travelers
    • 60% larger than the previous combined space
    • 15 showers

    The airline is calling it their best-in-the-network.

  • Porter is considering joining oneworld

    Gary Leff, writing for View from the Wing:

    Asked by The Airline Observer‘s Brian Sumers at the Skift Aviation Forum whether oneworld alliance membership is in the cards for them, Porter’s President Kevin Jackson said that the “honest answer” is “We don’t know.”

    “We are forming relationships with a lot of oneworld carriers now. Alaska and American are two of them.”

    He mentions Qatar Airways as one of their partners, and they already partner with British Airways too. Jackson notes that “oneworld doesn’t have a partner in Canada and Porter would make an obvious answer to that if we choose to join.” 

    “Obvious” meaning “only” – Air Canada is in Star Alliance and WestJet is part-owned by a group of SkyTeam airlines.

    Porter doesn’t have a business class and hasn’t opened any lounges, but the flights get good reviews for the little things like food and wifi. A sort of Canadian version of Alaska (with whom Porter has a deep partnership).

  • Condé Nast Traveler reviews Air France’s La Première from LAX to CDG

    Emily Adler:

    At LAX, La Première now has its own dedicated entrance in between Terminals 1 and 2—specifically at door L2-9—bypassing the main Air France check-in crowd at Terminal B (Tom Bradley). Upon arrival, I handed my passport to my dedicated concierge, who swiftly took care of check-in and baggage. A private security area is set aside for La Première customers, meaning there was no wait at all. The most stressful part of the airport was transformed into a seamless experience, with a level of personalization that I imagine is on par with flying private. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the lounge with time to kill.

    The La Première lounge is nestled within the larger Air France Business Class lounge. Despite being small, it felt spacious—given that there are only four La Première seats on each flight, you never risk a chance of crowds. I was immediately led to my pre-scheduled complimentary 30-minute facial treatment at the Clarins spa, where I entered a state of relaxation I can honestly say I’ve never experienced at an airport. Properly pampered into blissful oblivion, I felt all my lingering travel anxiety melt away.

    You’ve read about the La Première experience at CDG by now. Turns out it’s just as luxurious when your trip starts somewhere else.

    As I changed into my Jacquemus pajamas, the flight attendant gave me a hanger for my clothing (which she then delivered to my seat the next morning), and promptly made my bed during the few minutes I was washing up in the bathroom: plush mattress topper, thick duvet, and a fluffy pillow layered onto one another like I was already at a five-star Parisian hotel. Cocooned in soft blankets, and lulled by the plane’s faint movements, I watched Wicked for the umpteenth time and drifted off. This is one case where it is not hyperbolic to say that it felt like sleeping on a cloud.

    No airline is doing a better job in the skies than Air France.

    (AF has partnerships with Finnair, JAL, and Qantas.)

  • Qantas adds extra legroom seats from February 2026

    David Flynn, writing for Executive Traveller:

    Available from February 2026, Economy Plus will see the most spacious ‘extra legroom’ seats – including those at the exit rows – bundled with practical perks of priority boarding and ‘priority access’ to the luggage bins above your seat.

    Qantas is adding Economy Plus to the workhorse Boeing 737 fleet, as well as the new A321XLR and A220s. Free for Platinum and above from booking time, and free for Gold if there are still seats available with 24 hours until the flight.

  • Business Traveler: Is British Airways getting its mojo back?

    Rhys Jones:

    British Airways has committed to a full redevelopment of its eight lounges at Heathrow (five in Terminal 5, two in Terminal 3), with work due to start in 2026. Nothing is off the table – in 2024, staff working on the project discussed completely reshaping layouts, entrances and locations.

    …A new website and a promised new app will alleviate other pain points, whilst the refurbishment of its flagship A380 fleet next year will introduce an impressive new first-class cabin and, it is rumoured, updates to other cabins too.

    …Praise where praise is due: British Airways is throwing down the gauntlet with these new lounges. A rollout at Heathrow will solve one of the biggest complaints from passengers, and finally put BA on the front foot. A British Original indeed.

  • Nat Pieper steps down from oneworld; moves to American

    American Airlines, this morning:

    American Airlines Group Inc. today announced that Nathaniel (Nat) Pieper has been named Chief Commercial Officer. Pieper, currently CEO of the oneworld alliance, will assume his new role effective Nov. 3. He will report to American’s CEO Robert Isom.

    …As Chief Commercial Officer, Pieper will lead all of American’s commercial strategy, planning and performance across alliances and partnerships, cargo, co-branded credit card program, loyalty, network planning, revenue management and sales and distribution. In addition, he will co-lead the airline’s Customer Experience team with American’s Chief Operating Officer David Seymour.

    Hard to say how much of a loss this is for oneworld given Pieper’s short tenure; he previously ran alliance strategy at Alaska and Delta. It’s certainly a win for American, which has seemed strategically rudderless for years.

  • Alaska expands on the West Coast

    Lots of new routes on Alaska starting April 22, 2026 (already a big day for the airline), per Ishrion Aviation:

    California

    • Burbank ↔ Honolulu
    • San Diego ↔ Dallas Fort Worth
    • San Diego ↔ Santa Barbara
    • San Diego ↔ Raleigh-Durham

    Oregon

    • Portland ↔ Baltimore
    • Portland ↔ Philadelphia
    • Portland ↔ St Louis
    • Portland ↔ Idaho Falls

    Washington

    • Seattle ↔ Arcata
    • Seattle ↔ Tulsa

    UPDATE: Simple Flying has a complete table of new and discontinued routes. 13 new, 16 gone. The bulk of the cuts are in San Francisco, including routes to Austin, Boston, Burbank, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Alaska sees more opportunity in Portland and San Diego.