Originally Posted by
Neil35
...and all added flights on the list are from USA.
With the de facto de-hubbing of NRT, intra-Asia flyers will have hard time staying with United. They may be able to get to their other destinations in Asia on *A or JV partner flights, but there are still significant downsides (as I mentioned in NRT-HKG thread):
1. There are no E+ seats.
2. Nothing counts toward MM lifetime status.
3. Can't use GPU on partners' routes.
4. UA has had technical difficulties from time to time selling UA and NH flights on the same ticket -- bad for USA-based MileagePlus members seeking 016 tickets.
5. A greatly inflated intra-Asia award chart now that all flights to those cities must involve *A partners.
^Oh well. I guess management will not be touting its great shrinking network in the future!
With the emphasis on getting people to fly on United metal and its seeming withdrawal (LHR got clobbered pmUA) of its fifth freedom hubs to its US international hubs, as far fetched as it sounds, could UA be deciding to be the first *A founding member to go on its own?
