Originally Posted by
stargold
Frankly it's EK's redemption levels which are horribly out of whack, rather than AS being particularly cheap. The fact that EK insist on the fuel surcharges is very much their own issue as well.
And of course one mile on any program is not equivalent to a mile on any other program. It depends on the earn rate either via flying or ancillary sources such as credit cards as well as the redemption rate, which of course varies from person to person.
For instance, I can earn 1 mile for 0.40-0.8 USD on a Skywards credit card , but AS miles earn at 1 mile per 1 USD on their credit card. Also AS generally awards miles on actual miles flown + class bonuses, whereas EK have fixed earning zones. Then you have to see which routes you can redeem via various partners (i.e. AS miles I think can only be redeemed ex-USA)
Not to say that it eventually washes out to be equivalent in the end because I don't think that's true, it's only that it's no different to airlines offering different pricing and services depending on which area in the world you are from (c.f. ex-DXB fares).