Highflyer Interview: Nat Pieper, CEO of oneworld Alliance

AMSTERDAM — After landing in Amsterdam Schiphol on board Oman Air’s (WY) inaugural flight, we were joined by representatives from the Royal Schiphol Group and, crucially, oneworld’s CEO, Nat Pieper.

Once in the oneworld lounge, we briefly sat down with Nat to discuss the latest developments that saw Oman Air become the 15^th member of the Fort Worth-based global alliance.

On how Oman Air will blend into the alliance, Nat told Airways:

"The thing that I've always treasured as a global traveler is the unique culture of each airline. And, you know, whether it's the premium experience, the airport experience, or just interacting with people, etc., every airline has something distinct. I think what an alliance wants is for each of its members to succeed with their own strategy. They’re better served deciding how many classes of service they offer, what kind of business class seat they want to install—that's their decision.”

"I think what oneworld can do is facilitate the sharing of information. That’s one of the reasons Oman Air joins an alliance, and it's why others do too. It’s the ability to work together, to share knowledge. Maybe there are initiatives you can do jointly, maybe there are others that don’t make sense for you, but at least I can connect a product person from one airline with a counterpart at another. And that kind of information sharing is incredibly valuable. I remember during my Alaska days—we were the seventh or eighth biggest airline in oneworld —but I could go talk to a product expert at Qantas or meet with a lounge expert at Qatar Airways. Normally, I wouldn't have access to that, but because I’m part of the club now, I do."

Reflecting on Oman Air's membership, he says:

"I think the decision was great. I remember it being discussed at IATA in Doha three years ago, and the focus has been pretty consistent since then. But since Con [Oman Air CEO Con Korfiatis] came on board 14 months ago, you could really see things step up in a tangible way. From my perspective, the best members are those who are totally in sync with the strategy of the airline they represent. Oman Air is not only trying to spread its wings globally—they're doing it hand in hand with the country."

"It's about bringing global eyes and visitors to Oman, helping educate folks around the world about what an amazing place it is. And that's kind of the point—oneworld has 900 destinations, 15 global airlines. That’s an active base of passengers who can now be exposed to Oman as a destination. oneworld can help facilitate that, and that’s exciting for all of us."

About connecting oneworld partners to Oman, Nat commented: 

"I don't know from that perspective," he replies. "I think what’s most important is bringing Oman Air in, and then Oman Air developing deeper connections with the other 14 members. Maybe over time, it makes sense to connect them directly. Maybe it makes sense for Oman Air to fly to the hubs of those member airlines. It really just depends—who has the aircraft, the demand, and all those sorts of things. But if oneworld effectively does its job in promoting the 900 destinations across our global network, it’s only natural that guests of each member airline will be intrigued by Oman and want to visit—whether flying Oman Air, flying Qatar Airways, which already serves it, or maybe others in the future. Who knows?"