Stephen Usery, vice president, commercial, oneworld, chats with Global Traveler.

Location: New York City
Number of oneworld employees: 31
Recent project: A comprehensive review of the benefits offered by oneworld airlines to our elite frequent flyers
First job: Mowing lawns
Little-known fact about you: I am a recovering CPA.

Your Business

Essential business philosophy: Be passionate about quality; work as a team; and respect the complex needs of customers.
Best way to keep a competitive edge: Travel often and travel hard to learn firsthand what customers are experiencing.
Yardstick of success: Providing a travel experience across the oneworld network that is second to none, which will naturally lead to enhanced business results for the oneworld airlines

As a Traveler

Most important item you take when traveling: My passport
How do you spend your time on board: Working (I love onboard WiFi); and when I get a break, discovering movies and music I’ve missed by browsing the airline’s entertainment library
Favorite restaurant in the world: There is no way I can choose just one, but Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney is high on my list.
Favorite destination: I just took my first trip to Berlin, and I can’t wait to go back. I saw just enough to know it is a city deserving of my undivided attention.

About Your Brand

What can travelers expect from the oneworld alliance?

oneworld’s goal is to be the most preferred airline alliance for frequent international travelers. We don’t seek to be the biggest, although our network provides extensive coverage to all of the world’s major business destinations. We seek to be the best, starting with our member airlines and their services. The real measure of an alliance is the extent to which member airlines work together to create a seamless experience for customers, which is far more difficult than one might think. Whether the obstacles are legal, technical, operational, procedural or cultural, there are many things standing in the way of “getting it right.” Our customers don’t care, nor should they have to, about the obstacles. They care about their experience. So do we.

oneworld member airlines have deepened relationships over the past couple of years, including joint ventures. As a result, we are able to continually improve the experience of customers as they take advantage of the full oneworld network. Going forward, travelers can expect additional benefits for elite frequent flyers and easier access to information to enhance travel planning and make travelers aware of their benefits. Corporate customers can expect enhancements in our contracting process and new products that provide additional value when using oneworld carriers.

Frequent international travelers, including all of us at oneworld, live in a chaotic, stressful environment. Doing business globally involves many complexities and subtleties. Our customers know this intimately. They expect us to not only understand, but to reduce the complexity and stress of travel. Consistently and despite obstacles. That is our goal.