AS and AA Partnership Changes (Effective 1 January 2018)
 

As reported by Gary Leff:

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....omment-page-1/

Wow. That pretty much excludes me as a flyer out MSP. I'm hoping they bring more flights in/out of MSP but it seems like I will have to move on from the AS and MP with these changes at the beginning of the year. I love the program and the airline when I am able to fly them but with no frequency and no ability to earn status I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be moving on.

well... that sucks! all elite benefits lost.

i wont be driving to BNA or ATL just to take one flight, having to connect in the northwest.

Link to the AS website detailing the changes:

https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-ai...an/aa-updates/

This solidifies the decision I made to abandon AS and go back to Delta Diamond.

With very few domestic options unless you live in Seattle or commute to Seattle, this program no longer makes sense for me.

Going with the AS product on premium transcons and not allowing mileage accumulation on AA flights on routes such as SFO/LAX to JFK also makes AS much less competitive in California. Glad as well to have largely moved on from seeking status.

I'm less concerned about elite benefits than I am about at least earning some RDMs. It'll just take longer to earn the miles for those J tickets to Asia, not that I'd entertain any thought of using AA to Asia. Been there, done that, never again.

Kinda shocked some redemption options are being maintained...

Wasn't the problem with the AS program for those not based in AS strongholds that you would need too many carriers on an award ticket when the domestic connecting segments were counted?

It's surprising as many people expected AS and AA to get closed after the divorce of DL and AS (and later DL's refusal to interline with AA). However, with AS breaking up with DL and now AA, could it be that the problem wasn't so much that DL doesn't play well with others but perhaps that AS has problems maintaining relationships with bigger and stronger airlines?

Starting to wonder about this.

This is a huge negative development. There are lots of places I have to travel to for work that, after poking around online, it doesn't look like there are AS code shares to. Connecting through Seattle isn't acceptable. It's going to make it hard for me to stay with Alaska in 2018 given I don't live in Seattle.

I'm guessing the is the nail in the coffin to any rumors that AS was moving towards oneworld membership.

Domestically it seems to have come down to how big AS wants to grow and expand that is effecting these relationships. When you are filling a need it makes sense to partner, but once you start to infringe more in each others' business then eventual deterioration is expected. The only thing that would keep me flying AS at this point is flight frequency but I doubt that happens in any amount of time where I would maintain status. So for me, much like with the DL breakup, continue to earn through the end of the year and then start over with another program.

Ditto from YVR.

Not a viable airline from SFO
 

This announcement would make more sense if it was followed by either a commitment to an east coast hub or an acquisition of JetBlue.

As an SFO flyer, it would have been impossible for me to maintain status this year without AA flights. Unless it's flying to SEA or PDX, the AS/VX routes tend to be poorly timed, with few frequencies, even within the west coast.

Now there's no truly viable option to anything but the biggest east coast cities, and even then, many of them are only a few flights daily. (And those oh-so-valuable code shares out of Chicago are always 2-3x price.)

Not sure what my move is. We still have a few months to await more "exciting" news from Alaska. But maybe this is the year of free agency. AS loses big in that scenario. Why would I inconvenience myself to try to fly AS when it's so difficult anyway?

Maybe it's back to Delta. If I'm not going to earn useful miles, may as well fly an airline with a workable network and decent service.

The irony is that Alaska had finally earned my loyalty enough to deal with flying AA for the gaps, even when it was annoying, and now that loyalty is worthless.