Originally Posted by Eastbay1K

Alliances and partnerships really don't have much to do with this. AS has interline ticketing/baggage agreements with most carriers, whether not they are at "war". Although AS won't sell you the ticket directly, most travel agencies can and will, and you'll benefit from being on one ticket for irrops, baggage transfer, etc (as long as you're not sold an illegal connection due to minimum connect times, etc.) Alliances and partnerships don't mean squat with baggage transfers these days - you're at the mercy of a nice agent willing to break the rules if you're on separate tickets.