sedonanative

*with apologies to all of you ugly stepsisters*

I think its clear that UA and CO are creating a special alliance within the alliance, which makes a lot of sense because their routes are so complementary. My question is whether these reciprocal benefits are likely to remain between the two of them.
I've (rather unfortunately) relocated to a US-heavy airport and am wondering whether it makes sense to move my business to them. Right now as *G I am entitled to some perks, but it doesn't seem to be the case that EUA is one of them.

EddieG

I ran from US after being Chairman and have never looked back, I am also at US Hub and have no problems getting to 90% of my destinations.

sedonanative

Well it is more than a hub for me. If I want to fly from my local airport it's basically the only game in town.
I strongly dislike flying US though, especially on the east coast.

Nevertheless, I guess I am wondering if they'll be second class on *A or pushed out completely.

pbarnette

I don't really see much change from a *A perspective. The UA/CO agreement merely extends the benefits on those two carriers beyond what *A offers. All the other stuff (lounge access, *G extra baggage, etc.) shouldn't change.

I would put the likelihood of US being forced out of *A at about 1%. I would think it far more likely that US would quit of their own accord (though I don't really think this likely, either). *A will basically take anybody; they aren't very picky.

sedonanative

It's certainly a matter of perspective, but extending the benefits on one airline can be seen as denigrating the benefits on the other.
E+ is a huge deal IMO because it guarantees an immediate tangible benefit, unlike the mere possibility of an upgrade. If I could chose between UA and US as a CO elite I would choose UA everytime I could get the E+ seat assignment.

The reverse, a UA elite choosing CO over US only has the possibility of an upgrade, which is still better than anything US offers.

And to be honest, I'm not sure if I were CO or UA and US came back to me with an EAU offer, that I would take it.

WR Cage

There is a bit of truth to what the OP is saying. US has always been the ugly step sister of *A. Consider that AC (which is next door neighbours with US) has never completed a codeshare agreement with US and the two airlines have a poor record with passenger transfer while AC has codeshare agreements and enhanced passenger transfer functions just about all other *A airlines (ther might be 3 regional airlines on the other side of the world that AC does not have an agreement with).


If I were to catagorize the present relationship as follows:
1. UA-CO
2. UA-CO-AC-LH-SAS (Anti-trust immunity partners, revenue sharing, codeshare).
3. Rest of *A
4. US and the *A regional airlines.

There is a lot more in the pipe for the antitrust immunity partners that will benefit their elite flyers to the exclusion of US. I would strongly advise any remaining US elite flyers to status match over to UA-CO.

EWR764

There's the obligatory dig...

I don't think there's much doubt that Star Alliance is the most desirable alliance in terms of coverage and quality of options. In this regard, bigger is patently better, and the other alliances are certainly at a competitive disadvantage.

As far as US, they are probably sliding into the role CO played in SkyTeam after DL/NW hooked up. While they are still a member in good standing, it would be foolish to believe they aren't exploring their options.

BearX220

Given today's reciprocal deals within *A, if you had your pick of CO, UA and US on an even playing field, you'd choose US last. It's a terrible shame because I used to fly HP all the time here in the west, but today I would fly outside *A before booking US.

belynch

To the OP: was US ever not the ugly stepsister in *A?

SS255

I prefer to think of US as the independent-minded sibling who can "take care of herself." Kind of like the episode of THE BRADY BUNCH where Jan decides that she doesn't "need" her brothers and sisters, and wants to be an only child.

My feeling is that UA and CO elites will choose the other one of the two in nearly every case, unless US is substantially cheaper, and/or schedule is of paramount importance.

At this time I don't see any particular benefit for non-elites over and above the standard codeshare and mileage-earning/redemption abilities, so I cannot imagine that this new arrangement will impact the purchasing decisions of non-elites. The non-elite leisure crowd is US's target market, anyway.

vysean

I'm confused as to how you arrive at US being equivalent to the *A regional airlines (a designation they're doing away with, BTW) and below the rest of the general membership? What exactly does US do that is markedly different from the others?

As to codeshares, SQ codeshares with US - but not UA. Star Alliance partners CA/NZ/NH/OZ/BD/LH/JK/LX/TP/UA all codeshare with US. Just because AC chose not to codeshare doesn't mean that US is somehow less of a member...

MarkXS

UA and US still have their bilateral deal where each other's elites earn their home airline RDM bonus on the other airline on all flights. That's not a standard *A benefit.

Remember 2 things:
1. UA was the sponsoring airline for US joining *A.
2. New entrants to *A must be approved unanimously by all *A airlines, and US insisted on a 5-year renewal of their *A agreement as the price of voting for CO.

US isn't going anywhere, unless they either go chapter 7, or merge with somebody else. With UA's pullout of Florida, CO's weakness in the west (including the southwest where US has a hub and a hublet), CO's weakness in BOS, US fills important gaps in the USA *A family.

vysean

I would put the probability of the UA/CO elite reciprocity arrangement being extended to any other * carrier at .0001%. I don't see any chance of it happening.

As to whether it makes sense to move business one way or another - only you can answer that. Is your flying primarily domestic or international (or both)? Do you get mainline service with all of the carriers you're considering? How many miles or segments do you anticipate flying annually? Do you anticipate your flying activity remaining similar from year to year, or is there a possibility for a big increase/decrease or shift (domestic to international) in the coming year(s)?

It certainly is a matter of perspective, but if you view the reciprocity of elite benefits between UA and CO as denigrating the benefits of US, it would be hard to see how that perspective wouldn't then be applied to the rest of the *A member carriers.

E+ is a huge benefit, and has kept many an otherwise disloyal UA flyer loyal. It is great because in 99.999% of cases it is a guaranteed benefit, even when doing a same-day standby. It is especially important on TATL/TPAC flights, and I'd take more legroom any day of the week over better IFE (say on US or CO). As you are no doubt aware, F upgrades are another story entirely, and I don't think anyone can predict what will happen come summer 2010 since UA has never done this before.

pbarnette

It isn't a dig, and I never said bigger isn't better. I simply said that *A isn't picky, which they aren't. This simply addresses the assertion that there is some sort of reasonable scenario that would force US out. There is no quality test and there are plenty of examples of more or less integration among the airlines within *A. I mean, most of the European *A airlines have much tighter integration with LH than, say SK does. Does that mean SK will be forced out of *A?

elpi

US is moving to oneworld or is try to move to be correct.