Is Turkish Airlines straining the Star Alliance?
Turkish Airlines today finalized new direct service to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, continuing the torrid growth that could soon make it Europe’s third-largest airline by passenger count. If THY overtakes British Airways for the third-place slot, Europe’s balance of power among airline alliances would see a major shift. Air France-KLM would still represent SkyTeam [...]
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.
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 [...]
New Star addition is good news for award travel
In the recent alliance battle over southeastern Europe, you’ve got to give the win to Star. Romania’s TAROM signed on with SkyTeam last week, bringing “seamless” access to some fairly obscure destinations. But this week’s announcement that Aegean Airlines of Greece has joined the Star Alliance is sure to be a much bigger deal for [...]
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 [...]
IC to disappear as Air India joins Star
After a series of fits and starts, Air India is pressing ahead with its membership in the Star Alliance by phasing out the “IC” code inherited in its merger with Indian Airlines. Dropping “IC” and operating all flights under the “AI” code is expected to take 11 to 12 months. Air India promises the results [...]
TAM, Continental in new codeshare deal
Beginning July 1, Continental passengers can take CO-coded flights to popular Brazilian cities such as Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Florianopolis under a codeshare agreement with TAM Airlines. Meanwhile, TAM’s airline code (JJ) will be found on Continental flights to Cleveland, Houston, Orlando and Miami.
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