oneworld appoints Filip Lemmens as Commercial Director

06 December 2005

oneworld™ has appointed Filip Lemmens to the new post of Commercial Director, the number two position in the leading global airline alliance's Sales and Marketing organisation.

The move comes as the group begins the biggest expansion programme in its history and aims to build further on the success achieved so far in generating incremental revenues for its member airlines, with total earnings from alliance activities up a third year-on-year in 2004 to some US$600 million.

In addition to his current responsibilities for all sales and marketing activities in the alliance's key non-home markets, including advertising, he will now deputise for oneworld Vice-President Commercial Nicolas Ferri across all commercial issues.

Vice-President Commercial Nicolas Ferri said: "Filip's new position reflects the continued growth of the sales and marketing activities at oneworld. He brings a wealth of skills and experience to this new role, and is uniquely qualified for it, having developed and implemented many of the sales products that make oneworld the leading global alliance."

Filip is based at the central alliance team's head office in Vancouver, Canada.

Before he joined oneworld five years ago, Filip worked in various sales and marketing positions in Europe with the alliance's founder member American Airlines.

A graduate of Antwerp University, he is fluent in English, French and Dutch and speaks German and Spanish to a conversational level. Aged 35 and born in Belgium, he is married with one son and enjoys soccer and cycling.

About oneworld

oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus. Malev Hungarian and Royal Jordanian have been elected on board, and are now preparing to join the grouping. Japan Airlines is also seek membership.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. Together, its members serve some 600 destinations and 135 countries. oneworld is the only alliance to enable passengers to fly throughout its network, on any combination of carriers, using just electronic tickets.

oneworld was voted the world's best airline alliance for the second year running by readers of Business Traveller magazine in its 2005 poll and the World's Leading Airline Alliance for the third year running in the latest World Travel Awards, based on votes cast bytravel agency professionalsfrom more than 200 countries. It is also the only alliance whose members reported collective profits last year.

Note: LAN affiliates LAN ECUADOR and LAN ARGENTINA are not a members of oneworld.