Originally Posted by
Yaatri
It's true, we will never know what's going on behind the scenes. While AI's failings are out there for all to see, I can't help wonder if some opposition to AI is not due to worries of loosing a share of India market, if AI, enters the alliance.
Perhaps, but I think it has to be asked why , since AI's candidature was announced in Dec 2007, have Aegean Airlines, Brussels Airlines Egyptair, Continental Airlines, TAM and Turkish Airlines all managed to meet the agreed standards ( Egyptair even managed to go from candidate to full member in an amazing 9 months!) while Ethiopian Airlines, Avianca-Taca and Copa all seem certain to make the transition to full members within the next 12 months.
It does not seem credible to me that AI is being somehow 'picked on', indeed *A have had numerous opportunities to tell AI "sorry, but you are not trying hard enough" but instead they have shown extraordinary patience as AI have missed one deadline after another. To me the wonder is not that *A seem to have finally run out of patience, but rather, that it has taken them so long to reach the point of saying "you are either in or you aren't".
If you believe that *A members are concerned about losing a portion of the Indian market by letting in an Indian carrier why are they so keen to get hold of 9W?