Carrier expected to join next year

Five-year-old Kingfisher Airlines, which serves 58 cities in India, has signed a memorandum of understanding to become a full member of the global Oneworld alliance, which includes American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and others. Existing Oneworld members currently serve five points in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. American currently operates non-stop service to Delhi from its hub at Chicago O’Hare. Kingfisher has applied with India’s civil aviation authorities for approval to join the alliance, and after that is received, the airline’s membership is expected to take effect sometime in 2011, Oneworld said. Kingfisher has a fleet of 66 planes, mostly Airbus jets, and carried 10.9 million passengers during the last fiscal year on a schedule of 383 daily flights.