For an article I'm curious or there are still big differences between FFP's in earning and spending miles for tickets. I intend to make a comparison between 10 carriers and the main question is: how many miles you need to get a free ticket. Can anyone help me out there?
(the airliners are: KLM, Lufthansa, BA, Alitalia, Air France, SAS, SIA, TWA, AA and JAL)

All of this information is available on the websites of the relevant companies - since you are, presumably, going to get paid for this article maybe you should be the one doing the work, rather than seeking free info from people here?

[This message has been edited by christep (edited 10-18-2002).]

Off course I try to get my own information, but perhaps you also know that the sites of the carriers are not always as open as they should be. Besides that I already collected information from the airline-industry, but I highly rating the users of this FFP's because of the experiences you never will hear from the airline-industry.
But anyway, thanks for your positive contribution.

If your main question is "how many miles does it take to get a free ticket," the airlines are the only authoritative source. A phone call to each should get you the information. InsideFlyer also posts program reviews that can tell you.

However, you must be more specific if you want an answer - from us, from them, or from anywhere else. For example:

- A ticket from where to where? Direct comparisons between between, say, SAS and JAL are difficult in that regard.

- In what class of service?

- With or without advance notice? A may have an award for fewer miles than B, but it may require advance notice that B does not require. Without advance notice, A may have a special "last minute" award that requires more miles than B. Which award on A is the appropriate comparison?

If you have more specific questions, especially in areas where experience can help (one does not need experience to know how many miles an award ticket requires), please post those questions and I'm sure you'll receive answers. If the questions relate to a specific airline, a post in that airline's forum will probably get better response than a post here.

The question you are asking here is very straightforward. The airlines do not fudge these numbers, and in most if not all cases, the award charts are available online. If you want some specific answers, ask them here or at the specific airline boards.