Originally Posted by
rathin100
It all sounds very defensive. With Skytrax -- why shoot the messenger? Many other surveys accord top quality status to Asiana QR SQ CX and so on (CNN Business Traveller to name just one)
I certainly was not meaning to denigrate OZ, QR, SQ, or CX. However, there is something fishy going on with Hainan's 5-star rating, as evidenced by a sizeable thread in the Other Asian Airlines forum. Skytrax has gotten VERY defensive about what appears to be Hainan buying a rating.
ON coverage in the Asia Pacific: Vietnam airlines is tiny and cannot possibly compete with the likes of TG SQ and CX in Asia
VN might be tiny. However, when you add up VN, GA, CI, CZ, MU, and KE and throw in DL's NRT-based service that's significant coverage of Asia.
Skyteam ahs no ANZAC airline, no Japanese airline
We've already noted the absence of Australia/New Zealand carrier, which last I checked is not part of
Asia, which is where you tried to point out a SkyTeam weakness originally. Considering that until a couple months ago there were only two such carriers (and DJ/VA is still getting off the ground, really), I think this can be excused. Now if SkyTeam can't rope in VA (and hopefully VS in the process) within five years, I think we'll have a problem on our hands. As far as Japan goes, it doesn't appear there are any free agents to acquire, and SkyTeam's coverage there is likely sufficient for everyone outside of Japan.
In the middle East Im sorry but OW has RJ and Star had Egyptair and Turkish I cannot see how Saudia can ever compete with these.
MS? SV is dodgy, but I think I might fly them again before I'd get on MS. RJ and TK I'll give you. Let's see what ME can bring to SkyTeam.
And Delta/NW is simply not in the same league as US+UA+CO+AC and just about matches AA
This just doesn't measure up to the facts of the US aviation industry. Since you want to write off the small markets, DL's network is just as good or better than the others. Saying it just about matches AA is absurd.
Do I think SkyTeam is flawless? Certainly not. I started with NW before they were even in SkyTeam because I lived in North Dakota. I then moved to ATL for six years, where SkyTeam was about the only option. Now, they're just as good of an option as anything for me during my two years based at LHR. Sure, I could get a couple non-stops out of BA/BD where I'm one-stopping on AF/KL/AZ, but the prices are competitive and my most frequent destinations back in the US are ATL and FAR, which are easiest to get to on DL. (Non-stop to ATL 11x weekly from LHR and daily from LGW, and I can get mainline or 2-cabin RJs MSP-FAR with DL but not with AA or UA on ORD/DEN-FAR.)
For someone who needs to travel a lot in the Middle East or Australia, SkyTeam might not be the best option. However, it works for a lot of us, and many of the people who like to poke fun of SkyTeam have set foot on very few SkyTeam flights. There's clearly room for three global alliances, and I think it's in everyone's best interest to have them all be as strong as possible. Not at all thrilled with bringing SV on board, but let's see what happens.