Originally posted by ozstamps:
The one with LEAST to gain is UA, already the world's largest airline, and yes, I can imagine staff being a bit "ho hum" about it all.
Hmm, I doubt that UA has the least to gain. Two things instantly come to my mind:
- prestige: UA, like most US carriers, is big but not necessarily known for exceptional service, modern fleets etc. UA can gain a lot being in an alliance with the likes of SQ, NZ, and yes, even LH
- network: While it is true that UA is one of the largest airlines, its international network is more or less a joke compared to other international airlines. According to the 1999 IATA statistics, UA is internationally a midsized airline (even SR has more international passengers than UA, LH is more than twice as big internationally as UA. See http://www.lufthansa-financials.de/e...any/iata_f.htm ) And UA can gain access to a lot of additional countries.
IMHO all *A carriers can gain a lot from the alliance. Maybe UA staff has not quite realized what they can really get out of *, because the (non-international) staff might have a view that is a bit too US-centric.