yes , QF does have a frequent flyer/codeshare arrangement with 9W , so do 3 other OW airlines , 8 *A airlines , 3 Skyteam airlines and a host of non-aligned airlines - I think IT is a much stronger candidate for OW than 9W is , especially since they have , as you mentioned , joined the global explorer fare .


bearing in mind that OW keep talking about avoiding overlap and limiting the number of members to around a dozen worldwide why would they bring in a second airline in the Middle East ? I am aware that geographically there is some distance between AMM and BAH , but I still dont see it happening without a major shift in OW recruitment strategy. If you dont mind my asking what specifically do you see GF offering OW ? In recent years they seem to have been almost the definition of a boom and bust cycle ... expand , contract , expand , contract , expand .... far more so than any other carrier I can think of .


I realise that you are talking hypothetically but here is my 25MUR worth.

SQ - in spite of constant rumours ( which, in my experience , for some reason mainly seem to come from Skyteam supporters ) I do not see SQ quitting *A . The main 'evidence' given for their supposed desire to change is their lack of teamwork and halfhearted commitment to *A - personally I think they would be the same whichever alliance they were in, they have always been a bit of a Prima Donna . Furthermore , around the time of the MX exit from *A there were frequent rumours about a 2 year "standdown" clause for *A members which , IIRC , prevents them from joining another alliance within 2 years of departure from *A . I have no idea whether this clause actually exists , or is just another FT/Anet urban legend , but it would not surprise me if there is such a clause , if it does exist I think that in the current economic circumstances SQ would need a pretty compelling case to swap alliances if such a decision caused a 2 year period in alliance ' limbo' .

if by SR you mean LX , blame BA , LX were announced as a future OW airline several years ago and BA screwed it up and drove them into the arms of LH and *A . They would have been a great addition to OW as all of their existing European hubs LHR MAD BUD HEL are on the edge of the continent with a sodding great gap in the middle which LX and their ZRH hub would have satisfied nicely ... still , OWs loss definitely turned out to be *A's gain .

EK have a fantastic network , but I am not sure what they would offer an alliance - they dont actually generate much traffic of their own from what I can tell , they just cannibalise it from other airlines . There is also the problem of their extreme inconsistency in both hard and soft product - when they are good they are outstanding, but when they are bad they are frankly bloody awful - feedback I have had lately has been more towards the bloody awful end of the spectrum than the outstanding end . Lastly , there is that fact that even more so than SQ they seem to feel that they should be calling the tune in any arrangements they make , so I dont see them as a 'team player'