Airline alliances were supposed to represent seamless integration, a precursor to the current promise of ‘joint business ventures’ where airlines cooperated and coordinated to create passenger experiences that were nearly metal-neutral. It wasn’t supposed to matter which airline you flew as there would be alliance-wide product standards and assistance during irregular operations.
Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG which is the parent of oneworld members British Airways and Iberia says that airline alliances won’t exist in 10 years.