Booking post-alliance
 

I plan to make my virgin CO flight PVG-IAD over Christmas. All my miles are with Star Alliance and I'm nervous about flying CO after most of the posts here:

Q1: Should I wait to book my flights until after Oct 2009 to see if the mileage accrual systems are in place?

Q2: Are there any good deals to be had with CO later in the season?

Q3: How generous is CO with upgrades with Elites compared to other US airlines?

Am grateful for your views.

1) I am pretty sure that everything will be in place, but will not be announce for some time.

2) It is too early to tell on this route, but there have not been too many super deals to/from Asia lately.

3) Domestically? It depends on the route, elite level and timing.

CO only serves IAD on express equipment with no F cabin. And you will not receive a complimentary upgrade on the PVG-EWR route. Those two details may be enough to derail your plans to try CO.