entropy

given that I have good reason to be flying SFO-YYZ a lot now I'm glad aboot this.

FlyingOnceMore

The nine members who gained antitrust immunity in February '07 were


Air Canada
Austrian
bmi
LOT
Lufthansa
SAS
Swiss
TAP Portugal
United Airlines

RNE

Let's look at this from the other side of the equation. What do AC's customers get out of CO's route system? Connecting in EWR is no big deal; they can use JFK. IAH is so far from Canada it's practically in Mexico! Ah, but CLE is another story! Connecting there (CO's closest hub to Canada) makes sense for Canadians traveling to United States destinations.

zedhead

If I remember correctly, AC originally attempted to gain control of CO but was defeated by foreign ownership rules.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...27/ai_17148572

Just a hunch...US Airways is still in the mix.

entropy

ACtually, I wish CO would partner with PORTER air and dump their own metal to YYZ....
Porter is an awesome airline and I'd love to fly to toronto city...

radonc1

Furthermore, in wintertime they will feel like they never left home.

PSU Mudder

That seems to be the conventional wisdom, but I think I read somewhere on FT that US had to agree to let CO into *A, and that one of the conditions was that they themselves wouldn't get forced out. I'm speculating here, but it seems entirely reasonable that US, as a full *A member, would have some sort of veto power, especially with respect to new domestic entrants.

jazzhou

It's time I can start planning to collect my UA, TG, NH miles in CO. CO's brand should bump up the *A a few more notches.

FlyingHoustonian

Actually they get access to much of the Americas. And for AC's Calgary-Houston flights there are many US connecting ops as well.

Now if someone (CO, AC,???) would bring back YEG-IAH that would be great^

Ciao,
FH

RNE

Oh, really? IAH may offer more destinations than CLE, but for Canadians, CLE offers quicker flights (and easier connections at a smaller airport) to all U.S. destinations except maybe the Texas and near-Texas destinations. Canadians will have to backtrack (way back!) to most U.S. destinations from IAH. "No way, eh?"

FlyingHoustonian

yes really. Maybe you could look at an AC route map. The bigger destinations are already covered by AC. AC gets more out of this partnership through international connections. Something Houston and New York/Newark have as international cities-and something Cleveland doesn't. It is both basic geography and marketing.

And for pure aerial geography your statement is also incorrect. Someone flying Calgary to Miami, for example, if connecting on CO, has a shorter flight via Houston. It is not just "Texas" and nearby areas; though those areas cover ~50 million people...

Ciao,
FH

sbm12

While AC could always go to JFK, there wasn't much for them to connect to there. A few TATL flights or a CRJ to IAD isn't much good. Using CO as a connection in EWR literally opens up the world. I do agree that CLE is well positioned for connections as well, assuming that CO doesn't cut too many more flights there.

US won't be pushed out of the alliance, but they are not part of the revenue sharing/anti-trust immunity deal AFAIK.

shell nyc

Welcome to the dark side!!! You'll find quite a few of us cockroaches over here.
Thanks for the mileage accrual info. AC has a lot of lift LGA-Eastern Canada, and the Maple Leaf lounges (especially YUL) are excellent...it's been painful trying to avoid them since switching to CO 2 yrs ago. Looking forward to being able to book them again soon!

pbarnette

Interesting news on the AC alliance. I wonder who the next pre-*A agreement will be with? Wouldn't mind seeing them revive the SK alliance in short order. Heck, if they did, I might manage to keep my CO elite status for an extra couple of years.


I really don't understand why so many are convinced that *A wants US out. It doesn't seem their style. They would seemingly rather have everybody and their brother in the alliance.

And despite the prevailing wisdom, *A does have some pretty bad carriers, so I wouldn't say there is any overwhelming march to quality that would leave US on the sidelines. US will fit in just fine and I would think they can stick around as long as they like.

SS255

Thanks for the warm welcome, shell, but don't you mean the "sunny side"??? My status match to Gold Elite was confirmed the other day, and I am very much looking forward to flying on CO. I feel like I am switching schools.....lots of new kids to meet, yet some old friends to make me feel comfortable in my new environment.

I personally have found AC to be very welcoming to me as a Star Alliance Gold. I have never had any problems accessing the MLL's (which blow away the US Clubs and RCC's -- haven't been to a PC yet), or getting an exit row seat when I check in. I think that for the most part you guys will love having AC as a partner. While it can sometimes be challenging to accrue miles, it is nothing that the average Flyertalker cannot handle with a bit of ingenuity. I'm thrilled that they are jumping on the CO bandwagon sooner rather than later.