Originally Posted by
mczlaw
With the loss of AA and now AF/KL, anticipating a substitute partner aside from BA with an expansive, full-service European network is neither extravagant nor unrealistic. As others have articulated, it is in AS's best competitive interest to find such a partner. If it fails to do so or chooses to "go it alone," it will be interesting to see whether AS still exists as an independent, going concern in the next 12-36 months.
So who do you suggest? Putting aside the question of whether even BA is a full-service carrier (since they now charge for water on intra-Europe flights!), there really are only three full service networks in Europe: IAG (BA/IB), AF/KL, and Lufthansa Group. AF/KL and Lufthansa group are each in joint ventures with US partners who don't want partnerships with AS. That leaves AA/BA/IB, and hopefully EI. Adding IB would help somewhat and certainly seems plausible, though not to the US west coast and their geography limits their utility for getting around within Europe (a major complaint on the AA forum). I suppose you could add AY (already forming an AS partnership) and AZ (not the wisest airline to count on) to the list, but I really don't think there are any others. So your argument that AS needs to find a partner in addition to BA just seems like asking for a unicorn to me.
Like others, though I find the collapse of AS's Skyteam partnerships to weaken Mileage Plan significantly, I don't see how it's an existential threat to AS.