Originally Posted by
MikeMpls
Besides selling DD$ to partners, you'd also have to figure out how to apply them on partner airlines.
That should be no problem at all. Every airline, partner or not, has flights available which it is happy to sell.
Delta already gets reduced prices from a number of airlines (including El Al) and, if it wants, could probably negotiate agreements with others.
If LY, for example, is asking the public to pay $500 r/t TLV-CDG-TLV on a particular day, it would make that same flight available to Delta for a lower price -- let's say $450, but it is probably much less.
Delta would charge me 500 Delta Dollars, give $450 to El Al, and I would get on my flight.
If the flight is on a SkyTeam partner, I would also get MQMs for it.
Yes, Delta would have to pay out the $450 -- but it would wind up with 500 less Delta Dollars in my account which would not be used on a Delta flight.