  The age and evolutionary status of MWC349A, the unique emission line star
with maser and laser radiation in hydrogen recombination lines, remain unknown
because the spectrum of the star is veiled by bright emission from the ionized
disk and wind. The major argument for this massive ($>$10 M_sun) star being
evolved is its association with a close-by (2.4 arcsec) companion, MWC349B,
whose B0III spectrum implies an age of a few Myrs. However, newly obtained
high-resolution spectra of MWC349B reveal a difference $\approx$ 35 km/s in the
radial velocities of the two stars, which makes their being gravitationally
bound highly improbable. An estimate of the relative proper motion of the two
stars seems to confirm this conclusion. This reopens the previously suggested
possibility that MWC349A is a young massive star in a region of active star
formation close to the Cyg OB2 association. MWC349B, which moves with a speed
$\geq$ 35 km/s relative to Cyg OB2, may be a runaway star from this
association.
