Michael Fitzgerald

Hi there,

First time poster and thank you for your assistance in advance.

I am flying Etihad airways from SYD - MXP on an Alitalia ticket (flying Etihad airways) in Business class return.

I am currently a Flying Blue Ivory Member and Qantas Silver.

Will i accumulate miles with flying blue? Or is there another alliance program/flyer membership I should join to best effectively accumulate miles/status credits on this flight.

Thank you so much.

tgv2

No FB miles in this case.

irishguy28

Alitalia's Millemiglia and Etihad's Etihad Guest will give you miles.

Be warned, though, that Alitalia is currently in special administration and looks increasingly likely to go out of business by year-end. In this event, even though the Millemiglia programme is majority-owned by Etihad, you run the risk of losing all the miles as Millemiglia is likely to just terminate upon Alitalia's failure.

Even if someone does buy (parts of) Alitalia, it is also likely that the frequent flyer programme is not part of the deal or that accumulated miles may not be fully credited in whatever may replace the current programme.

Michael Fitzgerald

Do you recommend that I join the Etihad miles program then? Thanks for your help.

M

irishguy28

Virgin Australia's Velocity programme may also give you miles as they are partnered with Etihad, and Alitalia; though Virgin Australia is not a member of the "Etihad Partners" virtual alliance so it may turn out that you won't get miles from them.

If you have a Virgin Australia Velocity account I would suggest trying that first; if they don't give miles, then retroclaim in Etihad Guest. You should therefore join Etihad Guest now; not sure that you can claim for miles flown before joining; and if Velocity doesn't give miles send a retroclaim request to Etihad Guest.

Terbang

Does anyone know when the operating company (Etihad) is paid by the marketing airline (AZ)? Is this for instance 7 days after the booking is made (prior to departure) or after the flight has been taken (after departure).
I ask this because AZ could be bankrupt in the coming months which could lead that the operating company denies boarding because they will not be paid anymore when payment is made after departure. I have a similar case as the OP but in my case the ticket is not on AZ stock.

irishguy28

You don't need to worry about that.

As your ticket is (presumably) on Etihad stock they are responsible for getting you to your destination even if some of the segments on the ticket "fall away" due to Alitalia disappearing.

It sounds, though, like you don't have any actual Alitalia flights. They would most likely re-issue the tickets again with "new" flights (or rather, flightcodes).

AFKL and AZ recently stopped codesharing on most of the previously available flights, leading to mass re-issuing of tickets with new segments to replace the "lost" flights.

Terbang

First, thank you for your reply!!

My ticket is on KL stock. First part of the itinerary is with KLM.

Does this means that KLM keeps the money and pays AZ (marketing comp.) after the flight is taken? Afterwards AZ will pay Etihad (operating Comp)?
My worry is of course that AZ has now already my money

irishguy28

I'm surprised that you have a KL-coded flight on AZ as most such codes were pulled earlier this spring. They now appear to codeshare only to the extent allowed/required by the transatlantic Skyteam joint venture and a handful of other routes. May I ask what route is in question?

http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/...-routes-in-s17

http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/...routes-in-s17/


You don't need to worry about who has your money - your only contract is with the agent that issued the ticket. You paid the entity that issued the ticket so the money is not yours anymore. It is almost certain, though, that the issuing carrier keeps all the money until each sector is flown. How, when, and how much is "shared" with others depends on whether it is a TATL JV flight - AF, KL, DL and AZ share all revenues on a basis that is not public - even when not all partners are involved in the operation of the ticket - or, if not covered by the JV, on the basis of whatever codesharing/marketing agreement exists, which has changed drastically in recent times between AFKL and AZ.

Goldorak

I don't think that's what Terbang meant. When he/she said he has a ticket on KL stock, I think it just means that the ticket has been issued by KL on 074 plate. But it doesn't imply necessarily KL flight number(s).

NickB

Indeed. i also have such a ticket issued on KL stock but with an AZ-coded flight on it. Just because AFKL have ceased codesharing on most routes, it does not follow that they have ceased to issue tickets on each other's flights.

irishguy28

I had forgotten that Terbang said that the AZ coded flight was on EY metal.

KLM themselves don't issue tickets with AZ-coded EY flights; however, this ticket was most likely issued by a third party on KL stock rather than by KL themselves.

I'm still curious to know which route on this 074 ticket has an AZ flightcode for the EY metal flight. [it is an 074 ticket, right? And not 055?]

Terbang

Thanks again for all your input!!

The EY return/inbound flight is from JNB to AUH and onwards to FCO.
The ticket is issued on KL 074 stock but the EY flights are AZ codeshare.

As said, important to me is that KLM keeps the money till all flights are made and than settles with partners. When I understand irishguy28 correctly this is the case in the Airline Industry.

irishguy28

As it sounds like you made the booking via a travel agent - you said earlier that "First part of the itinerary is with KLM" but I am struggling to see how any KLM flight comes into your suggested itinerary, let alone why they would sell you such a ticket directly - I doubt KLM have the money yet, either. And in this case, I am not sure that they would be in charge of disbursing the moneys to the other airlines...

brunos

It would be useful if you gave the exact itin. And when that is taking place.
My guess is that it is something like AMS-JNB (KL)- FCO (AZ/EY).

There is nothing like a "standard" bankruptcy in the airline industry. Hence, it is hard to forecast what will happen. If the trip is taking place next month, you are safe with high likelihood. If your return is in six month time, anything is possible.
As EY is a big owner of AZ, it is doubtful that the codeshare will be denounced before bankruptcy. In the extreme case, AZ will default and your ticket on AZ will become worthless. But there could be many variants.

Regarding your question of where the money is.
Your TA got your money and transferred it to KL (depending on the TA arrangements this is done immediately or on a periodic basis like every week). In a multi-airline ticket, KL then forward the moneys to each airline according to the NUC breakdown indicated on the ticket. In all likelihood, AZ has the money for the JNB-FCO segment.