Qatar Airways joins OneWorld

Skift is reporting that Qatar Airways is joining the OneWorld airline alliance. They write that :

It is finally official, after few weeks of speculation, leaks and denials: Qatar Airways has landed big, and is joining Oneworld alliance. The announcement was made in couple of tweets earlier today and an official press release.

According to the release, this means that

When Qatar Airways becomes part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to the alliance's truly global network. The 2.2 million members of its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld's other carriers, with top tier members able to use any of the group's 550 plus airport lounges, and its network will be covered by oneworld's market leading range of alliance fares. At the same time, the 125 million frequent flyer cardholders of oneworld's established airlines will be able to earn and redeem rewards when flying on Qatar Airways and access Qatar Airways' lounges.

We are pleased to announce @qatarairways will join #OneWorld, making the world an even smaller place! #QatarOneWorld twitter.com/qatarairways/s…

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) October 8, 2012