Originally Posted by
scnzzz
Don't know. But they appear (a) to be stable and (b) to add substantial network coverage in mainland Europe as well as Russia + most of the *fillintheblank*-stans that aren't currently covered by the existing members. So there's value/relevance there. Same goes for Malaysian (in SE Asia), and although it's been 20+ years since I flew them last, I understand they are a pretty decent outfit.
They certainly appear to be several notches above AI.
Yes but the point I am trying to make is that if Kingfisher goes under (which I bet it will) 1W will miss out on a good Indian network. With Jet off to star, AI being snubbed by star is a god send.
Sure it may be a crappy airline but Star and Sky are full of crappy airlines so why can't 1W have 1 or 2 to bulster its network.
1W is seeming smaller and smaller as the other 2 alliances go on mass recruiting drives and snap all these airlines up. I think OW might lack ambition if it carries on allowing the other 2 to grow and grow and not catch up with them.
China Eastern Airlines is a good example. It narrowed down the choices to SkyTeam or OneWorld and by personal choice of the CEO chose SkyTeam. OneWorld lost itself a foothold in China. It cant allow itself to do the same in India. Sri Lankan is good for India but will not have as large an Indian network as AI will.