Then why wouldn't they update the members elect page to show that (as has been done for US)?

Beats me... seems their webmaster is not very invested on their site....

But it is confirmed that JJ joins on March 31. It was confirmed the day LAN Colombia entered the alliance =)

UL is usually 25%-50% less than other airlines in J on routes like DOH/DXB-HKG/BKK/KUL that I fly often. There must be a reason for this.

Though I have only flown them once (from DOH) and had a very good experience. A spicy curry was one of the best Y meals I have had on an airplane. They also fly widebodies from DOH unlike, e.g., 9W or AI.

I very much look forward to them in the alliance, but I think that it's fair to assume that they are far short of the QR/CX standard in this part of the world.

"QR standard" ? In my 20+ flights with QR I did not noticed any standards - apart from decent booze. Very amateurish airline.

UL are even more amateurish, but offer a cheap way to get around in C. So if you are OK with a sub-standard but cheap C offering - UL is great. Just set your expectations low and you will be fine.

Regards,

El Puerco Volante.

that's perhaps a little harsh!

the UL C product with full flat beds is actually pretty good. And the service is usually excellent.

Is agree. Ground product is nothing amazing, but the seat is fine and the service is usually fantastic.

Agreed with both points. Flew with them last week.
Emphasis on excellent service and value for the money spent!
Nicely refurbished lounge at Colombo. Now you must make your own coffee and tea - sigh! :D

If you are used to C on US airlines - sure, UL is fine.
But if you are used to proper C service - it's amateurish at best.
Example - people from Y coming into C cabin to visit friends (and it looks like everyone is friend of everyone), sit and stay in C for hours, disturbing paying C passengers. Not even an attempt from the crew to stop this.
Another example - a passenger reclining his seat, putting the sleep mask and headphones on and covering himself with a blanket is a fairly clear indicator that this passenger would like to sleep,right? Not for UL crew - you will be awaken and asked what you would like to eat :mad:

I have another examples, but the above ones should suffice. Again, it's a matter of perception - if you fly on UA or similar you will love UL. If you fly on EK/SQ/CX/LH/LX, even EY, the UL is amateurish at best.

Regards,

El Puerco Volante.

Sorry, "even EY"? I find EY's J service far superior to EK's slopey product which is on most of their aircraft. Even their A380 feels like a dorm.

Different strokes for different folks, obviously.

JJ are getting ready. There is a roll-out of "priority boarding" gate signs at some domestic Brazillian airports showing the JJ FF card with OW red, blue and green status dots. Now this is, however, one of the few pieces of evidence of organised clear communication at a Brazilian airport.

Can't disagree more. Granted my experience is only two flights MLE-CMB-KUL but both UL flights were excellent... regional A320 service as good as EY, EK, SQ and CX regional service and worlds better than phony Euro-J.

Which lounge does Sri Lankan use? I've never seen the flagship lounge in Sri Lanka before, and I have transited many times in CMB.

Their "flagship" Serendib Lounge is not in the main international concourse (gates 6-14) but rather towards the terminal and then to the right near gates 1-4. http://www.airport.lk/getting-arroun...ure_guide.html

They had just reopened it following renovations when we were there last month. Some pics...
The New Serendib Lounge at CMB

The flagship lounge looks quite ..........

Yes, this renovated lounge is certainly more modern than the older one. I was in the new one on Jan 4th and while it was larger/nicer, I did not see the massage center with free massages. Also, it appears the nap rooms are gone.

There are now machines for making our own tea/coffee instead of an attendant making and serving it. VERY BA-ish, and AC-ish! So much for the personal touches that UL prides itself in offering passengers. :rolleyes:

Better food display with the new lounge. larger, brighter bathrooms too. Nice wi-fi availability too :)

Confirmed for 1 March
http://www.ausbt.com.au/oneworld-to-...t-half-of-2014

No press release about this from oneworld yet.
Until such time as oneworld issues a release, best to mark this down as rumor.

I'd wait for the official press release but I don't think we're far away from seeing them joining.

UL actually posted the remark of being OW member for flight information listed on/after 01MAR14 in the GDS.

Of course, Ausbt was "alerted" by my posting on twitter...otherwise they probably wouldn't even bother to ask the airline again on the date.
https://twitter.com/airlineroute/sta...03726851182592
https://twitter.com/airlineroute/sta...05875312111616

[KVS Availability Tool 7.3.3/Diamond - Operational Info: UL 503/01 Mar 2014]

Hi Jim...

1. Absolutely I was alerted by the heads-up tweet from Airline Route. AR provides a great service which I've tapped and acknowledged in the past, as relevant (eg http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-ai......-upper-deck and others).

2. That said, GDS data is not always reliable, which is why as a journalist I sought confirmation from SriLankan Airlines, and a senior member of their Media/PR department confirmed the March 1st date.

3. But as it turns out, UL appears to have jumped the gun on their entry in to oneworld – the PR person was a bit too eager and the GDS entry would seem to be not accurate. Oneworld's corp comms manager called me this morning to advise that March 1st is in fact NOT the joining date for UL and they don't expect to announce that date for at least another month (my story on AusBT has been updated accordingly).

Unlike other industry which requires journalists/bloggers to contact company/association/whoever directly for confirmed information, this is an industry that always tells people refer to the GDS/Reservation system for the ultimate information, despite it loads inconsistent information from time to time.

Jim: Travel agents etc may point to GDS but media should confirm information, simply because data being in the GDS does not make it true.

Of course that's not the fault of AR, which does a brilliant job of tracking and sharing GDS updates. Most of the time the GDS is correct and often the GDS gets the jump on what the PR folk know! :)

But there have been a few times of late where a GDS entry has been in error - this is one instance, and another was a reported change to CX BNE-HGK in late December - and on that one, I checked with CX PR AU and they confirmed the GDS entry was made in error.

So yes, the travel industry may hold the GDS up as The Source, but 'journalists/bloggers' reporting in this industry should continue to do as they do in other industries and as far as possible seek timely confirmation (or otherwise) from the airline and report accordingly.

It's no biggie, really. :)

Damn ! :(

I was already looking for a good business class fare from BKK to LHR and hoping for double points too !

This is a tad disappointing. The new biz product ain't bad.

As I said on another thread, the OW press release that just came out seems to suggest that UL won't join until at least April.
http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa...nguageId=en_US
Also, unfortunately GDS info can be wrong, as in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...s-flts-ow.html.

oneworld just tweeted that TAM and US airways will join on march 31 and Sri Lankan soon after, confirming once again that they won't join before April.

Finally it's official, SriLankan will join on May 1st:
http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa..._col_count%3D5

Cracking. Now we wait for another of their ridiculous sales.

Is FlySmiles Classic's UL entry level?

If so, seems like most press reports are saying that classic is matched to oneworld ruby - which at least gives free bags on AA domestic.

The UL website doesn't mention a "FlySmiles Classic" level. It suggests the program has 3 levels, Blue, Silver and Gold. :confused:

Why don't folks wait a while? There is PLENTY of time and one airline does not speak for others - especially if OW membership is still pending. Any announcement does NOT mean the event has happened yet - or am I missing something today on March 7th? :confused:

The inevitable will happen and "SriLankan will join on May 1st:
http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa..._col_count%3D5" - if the stars and planets align.... :rolleyes:

I have business class tix paid for and ATM I personally really don't care if they join OW before or after I fly. Eventually we all shall see what happens. :D

SriLankan joined today.
I had a look at their route map and noticed that they have plenty of codeshares with non-OW airlines (Etihad, AlItalia, Oman, Siberian, ....)
As a warning to fellow members of this forum I just wanted to let you know that you should use caution when booking any of these flights if you want to collect miles.

Flights must be marketed and operated by a OW partner in order to collect miles.:cool:

I've heard something about AA members earning on EK operated, QF marketed flights.

Siberian (S7) is a OW member.

Thanks for pointing that out. I only knew them under S7 so didn't make the link.

AA is saying on their web page that UL is joining. And they have a double miles promo starting May 15th. No idea why it wasn't since the joining date.

I look forward to flying to Sri Lanka one day.

anyone know how to check for award seats on UL using other airline miles besides using expertflyer or kvs? Qantas doesn't show Male as a destination, and whilst Cathay displays Male, i think they only show their own CX flight

BA.com is showing UL award seats.

great. thanks for the fast response :)