The language used by OW certainly does indicate that EI won't be allowed back in.

I don't know why any alliance would want EI in their group. I think Ireland will just remain a black hole of decent commercial aviation.

Having spent several miserable hours in EI's DUB Gold Circle 'lounge' wating for an increasingly delayed EI flight back to LHR (and watching the bmi flight that all my other colleagues were on push back, on time, hours before me), I am tempted to agree. However, I think that EI and oneworld are as compatable today as they were originally, if only for the EI-BA relationship: which to a non-expert seems good from an geographical and symbiotic perspective for the two airlines. As for EI's lack of european J-class, now that my employer has banned short-haul business class travel post-credit crunch, perversely, traveling on one-class carriers is better, as at least I don't contemplate I am missing out on anything... :)

Nonetheless, I think that EI is Star's to loose, what with the UA partnership and EI's adamant determination that they do not want to move from their current T1 base (voiced when the LHR terminal alliance alignments were first mooted and they were still in OW)... which of course is now the Star hub.

Shuttle

Comair is actually doing a decent job in South Africa.

Even if AB has a pretty big network, is a low cost airline. They usually have tickets for 29€ (where 28€ are taxes). And their "meal" in cabin, is sometimes not more than a muffin. One significant drawback with Airberlin is that the one-time-record is really bad. Being delayed for over two hours are not too unusual.

Ah, so you mean they are exactly the same as BA then?!?

On Euro flights (and on domestic of course) food is often just a cookie/biscuit/etc (only at meal times on Euro flights is there something more substantial), and I have lost count how many times on BA shorthaul I have been delayed for longer than the duration of the flight itself (I must have had an hour and a half or more delay 10 to 15 times on BA Euro and domestic flights in just the last two years [about 1 in 5 of all the flights I have taken with them, and about 1 in 3 of the shorthaul flights I have taken with them).

And on AA you have to pay for alcoholic drinks longhaul and even for food on domestic, while both are free on AB.

In fact on American Eagle AA flights they even have the temerity to charge $3 for the nuts!!! (See 3/4 of the way down the page - http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInforma...ealService.jsp)

So in this regard they are as, or even less, 'low-cost' that a few established OW (so-called) 'full service' carriers!

So AB will fit in very nicely with their new partners! ;)

A cursory look at the stats doesn't look too bad:
AB
http://www.flightstats.com/go/Flight...%29+Air+Berlin
BA
http://www.flightstats.com/go/Flight...ways&x=35&y=12

Thanks for that, it certainly puts things into perspective.

It is a bit like LH or BA, ain't it? Without a "meal" in the Y-cabin and with no newspapers. And LH usually has ticket for 88 Euro return (where 86 Euro are taxes). Most legacy carriers are a hybrid today between the former type of LCC and the former type of legacy carrier.

True, LOL.

Domestic in Germany AB offers a better service than LH.
LH: Drinks only
AB: Drinks+small snack+Magazines

From the day they join I will use them much more frequently.

Does anyone as an insight to possability of milage accural on OW airlines (yes I know they have a partnership with S7) being offered before AB becomes part of OW?

Thanks in advance

Only Hainan and S7 at the moment (yes and all the affiliates like Belair and Niki) We should wait a bit.

To add to the points above on catering, the offering is not bad and comparable to many full service airlines these days. And compared to SK, I'm sure you'll agree it's much better.

Not much better than airlines in Europe or Nth America. But catering in Asia is in a league above.