ST GALLEN, Switzerland, May 23 (Reuters) - Pieter Bouw, chairman of Switzerland's new national airline, Swiss (CROZn), said on Thursday the company was still sticking with plans to join the Oneworld air alliance. He told Reuters on the sidelines of a business conference that Swiss was not looking at other options now despite complications, including Switzerland's status as a non-member of the European Union. "I hope it (Oneworld membership) can be done in 12 months, but I cannot give you a guarantee," he said. "So far there's no reason to evaluate other options because the discussions are moving in the right direction," he said. Swiss, formed by combining parts of failed Swissair's operations with those of former regional carrier Crossair, has set its sights on joining Oneworld, which includes British Airways Plc (BAY), AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines and several others. Bouw also underscored that the Swiss airline was planning to hang onto its cargo operations, denying any speculation that it might be thinking of selling them or paring them down. "It's impossible to generate substantial profits on our intercontinental network without cargo," he said. He added "In cargo the policies and the systems are quite well in place, and in effect the financial results are better than expected" in that business. ©2002 Reuters Limited.