Originally Posted by
kt74
Okidoki, so I sat down with a big fat spreadsheet last night and worked out which *A programme was best for me, assuming that OW cannot fully meet my needs. Yes, I know I'm sad
I prefer to say that you did a rational analysis of which *A programme best suit your needs. That's how I describe my own work
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Whichever way I look at it, A3 is coming out tops right now. Funnily enough, not because of the 20k *G, but because it offers the best combination of earning (200% premium classes incl discount C) and burning (only TK is cheaper for EU-Asia in C class, and it is the same price as TK and UA for EU-Oz/NZ). TK came a close second, and UA was a surprise third. Put it this way, I'd happily be status matched into any of these (HINT!)[/quote]
My guess : you're flying business mostly and couldn't care less about the myriad of Eco fare that concern the fabled part of the plane that's rumored to be behind the curtain?
So, what's the catch? Would love to hear any recent experiences from other Diamond Club defectees to Aegean. Is anyone concerned about their financial position and/or does anyone think the current generous earn rates will be enhanced in the near future?
I'll point you to this thread were the
financials of Aegean were discussed. Basically, it's an airline, it's in Greece, but it's not in a bad shape and it's a regional airline from a popular tourist spot. We're used to BMI so we know not to park huge amount of miles in case something happens...
It's my opinion, though, that the current mileage requirements are a legacy of the time when it was an unaligned. Without longhaul earning opportunity, and a grand offering of THREE lounges, they had to be generous for their frequent fliers. It may change in the future (but not to quickly not to infuriate their domestic user base). On the earning/burning front, I guess it's ok : the redemption chart is rather good, but earning are disappointing for many cheaper fares so it won't be attractive to many flyers.
I don't fear an influx of cheap elites abusing the *G status. If they credit to A3, the program will be in the same situation as DC. If they don't, expect the qualification criteria to change. If they become more stringent, it won't change your analysis (as you fly certainly enough to qualify anyway), but if they introduce minimum segment on Aegean, we'll be out of luck.
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Incidentally, to summarise other programmes I looked at, in approximate order of attractiveness:
[LIST][*]UA is more attractive than i remembered, with OK earn (lots of variation - discount C on LX for 175% was a nice little outlier) and good burn rates, but the US lounge access issue negates the additional benefits of US domestic travelling (upgrades, etc)[/quote]
Plus, you need to fly 4 segments on UA metal to gain status (I didn't check your location before answering this post : if you're not in the US, it may be difficult).