Originally Posted by
nd_eric_77
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2. Full cross-compatibility of lounge memberships... for both domestic AND international routes (eg: a CO PC member currently can use the NW WC lounges in NRT, ICN, etc... regardless of whether the PC member is flying on NW metal or even any Skyteam metal). This would be a pretty huge gain for AC members, as CO lounges tend to have things most global elite travelers expect... like free internet (yes, i know that ACS are finally handing out t-mob cards) and more importantly, free booze. Who knows, maybe AA could finally buy a friggin clue and make drinks complementary in ACs (or at least beer & wine).
All in all, I think AA could become a much better carrier if it were to partner with CO and adopt some of CO's best practices. On the flipside, CO could piss off a LOT of its elites if it were to partner with AA and adopt some of AA's WORST practices.
IMHO, the AS model is the WORST possible scenario. AS strikes me as an airline wh*re who will partner with anybody they can (except UA) in order to "stick it to" UA.
Actually, PC members can access
any SkyTeam lounge regardless of what carrier they're flying on...I
never fly SkyTeam, but have a PC membership solely because 90+% of my travel is into/out of SAT--AA is in T2 with no AC, but CO has a PC there.
Agree that if done correctly, AA and CO could merge "best practices" and have a killer FF program...but will throw in that it must not include fare-based upgrade prioritization (my perspective) as it would devalue EXP significantly for me (and many others, I suspect).
As to AS, I don't really know much about their MP program or the BR clubs...but it does seem that they'd be a good fit for AA to merge with in terms of routes and that the FF programs are not too incompatible (okay, they're radically different...).
cheers!