Originally Posted by
flyingcrazy
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.
I'd much rather OW built a network to the top 10 or 15 India destinations by partnering with EY or QR rather than have the ability to go to every 2-bit destination using AI - but then having to deal with (a) AI and (b) the crapshoot involved in airport transits in India (witness the countless threads titled "3 hour connection - do I have enough time to transfer from int'l to domestic @ BOM/MAA etc").
IT would have fixed (a) if they actually were solvent but that went downhill rather fast. Given that OW doesn't seem averse to the odd LCC (e.g. AB), Indigo may not be a bad option to evaluate. Still, that leaves (b). And (b) leaves a lot to be desired
I do agree that the loss of China Eastern perhaps was unfortunate - but then again, I personally don't have any business or leisure destinations in mind that CX couldn't address
YMMV
Edited to add: If China Eastern is in the habit of making strategic decisions of this sort solely on the personal choice of the CEO rather than on a rational data-based approach with BOD backing, then I for one as an OW member am glad they went to ST.