Which round-the-world ticket offers the best deal?
After our post several weeks ago dissecting the cost of SkyTeam’s 10th anniversary round-the-world pass, several readers wrote to ask the cost-per-mile price on RTW tickets from the other alliances. Just a quick review: After some investigation, we found that SkyTeam’s fare for a 29,000-mile pass was $4569, or 15.75 cents per mile. (This assumes [...]
Top 5 LCCs that belong in a global alliance
The rush is on to woo discount airlines for the global alliances. AirAsia heads our list of “most wanted” new members.
Dissecting SkyTeam’s round-the-world sale
SkyTeam is promoting a 10th anniversary sale on round-the-world tickets. But depending on your country of origin, the “sale” price per mile could actually be higher than the regular price.
SkyTeam enjoys a UK boost with Air France codeshare deal
SkyTeam fliers should find it much easier to earn miles and perks on U.K. travel under a “landmark tie-up” between Air France and Flybe, Britain’s largest domestic carrier. The new codeshare deal, expected to begin in October, will see the AF code spring up on 45 new routes between France and the U.K., plus 17 [...]
Hearts & Minds: The battle for road warriors’ loyalty
If the Wall Street Journal says it, it must be true: Individual airlines are becoming irrelevant as global alliances get ever-bigger and more inclusive. Okay, that’s not an exact quote, but it is the gist of Scott McCartney’s outstanding column. The exact quote, from Star Alliance VP Christian Klick, is this: “Competition used to be [...]
Will SkyTeam fliers benefit from Alitalia JV?
SkyTeam now appears to have the edge in trans-Atlantic travel — the all-important market that gave rise to airline alliances in the first place. This week, Alitalia announced that it would join a trans-Atlantic joint venture already formed by Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM. With the addition of Alitalia, the JV claims it will [...]
Welcome to America’s newest international airline
Quick, what’s the only international airline based in the U.S. that is not part of a global alliance? I’m not talking about carriers like Virgin America that fly a few routes north or south of the border. I’m also disqualifying Spirit and its competitors that have built up short-haul networks around the Caribbean. If you’re [...]
For semi-frequent fliers, “status” is relative
Few business travelers can earn all their miles with a single alliance, no matter how hard they try. Since you probably won’t earn top-tier status with your “fallback” alliance, it’s worth asking what kind of perks you can expect if your status never rises above silver level (or its equivalent). If Silver status is the [...]
SkyTeam adds its 13th "full" member
SkyTeam’s route map added 11 new cities on Friday when Romanian carrier TAROM joined the alliance as a full member. From its Bucharest hub, TAROM serves such hard-to-reach cities as Bacau, Cluj and Constanta in Romania, plus Chisnau, the capital of neighboring Moldova. So how many of SkyTeam’s 462 million passengers will actually fly to [...]
Debating the hub of the matter
Gary Leff over at View from the Wing has stirred up a major debate over the relative strengths of the three airline alliances. Based on an email exchange with SkyTeam officials, Leff offers the following provocative headline: “Skyteam Throws Down the Gauntlet, Claims that at 10 Years Old They’re Better than the Other Airlines”Personally, I [...]
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