General_Flyer
Jun 20, 11, 6:29 pm
Article link here (http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/06/20/airline.alliances.snyder/index.html?iref=allsearch)
The bottom line: Alliances offer some benefits for frequent fliers, but the benefits for everyone else are minor at best. Some people assume that airline codesharing, when airlines sell flights operated by partners as their own, is an alliance benefit. It's not, and there's plenty of argument around whether codesharing is a benefit at all (more about that in a future column).
When airlines decide to codeshare it often happens between alliance members, but that's not a hard rule. Some airlines like Alaska and Hawaiian codeshare with a variety of different airlines across alliances.
Airlines may love to publicize the alliances they form, but in the end, these have little benefit for the average traveler. The benefit for the frequent flier is greater, but there's still a long way to go before the experience is truly cohesive. I'm not sure they'll ever get there.
The bottom line: Alliances offer some benefits for frequent fliers, but the benefits for everyone else are minor at best. Some people assume that airline codesharing, when airlines sell flights operated by partners as their own, is an alliance benefit. It's not, and there's plenty of argument around whether codesharing is a benefit at all (more about that in a future column).
When airlines decide to codeshare it often happens between alliance members, but that's not a hard rule. Some airlines like Alaska and Hawaiian codeshare with a variety of different airlines across alliances.
Airlines may love to publicize the alliances they form, but in the end, these have little benefit for the average traveler. The benefit for the frequent flier is greater, but there's still a long way to go before the experience is truly cohesive. I'm not sure they'll ever get there.