oneworld Alliance more expensive than Skyteam / Star Alliance?
 

Has anyone else notice that flights are generally more expensive for international flights on any One World Alliance airline Itinerary than their competitors Skyteam and Star Alliance?

When looking for international flights from the West Coast I consistently see more expensive flights on OneWorld carriers to Asia then the other 2 alliances.

Having recently achieved AA Platinum status I find this a bit disheartening, albeit I will enjoy some perks as a Platinum member (nowhere near as good as Exec Plat) often times the flights I want to take are $400+ more expensive on any AA/US flight or its partners.

As the self proclaimed new largest airline in the world why is it that they are so much more Expensive?

Example:

PDX-BKK: Nov4-Dec 4

Oneworld: $1394
Skyteam: $889


LAX-BKK: Nov 4 - Dec 4
Oneworld: $755
Skyteam: $579

PDX-MOW: Nov 4 - Dec 4
Oneworld: $1370
Star Alliance: $820

These are just a few examples but generally I would say at least 80% of the time Oneworld Alliance is much more expensive than Skyteam or Star when looking for international flights.

The exception seems to be AA to the UK currently, I am playing with the search engines more to see exactly where AA and Oneworld Alliance is competitive because it is definitely easier to become elite on AA/US than United or Delta and the rewards seem to be cheaper and more generous, that being said I will be spending a lot of money to keep my status versus the cash price of the other airlines.

Kind of sad.

Oneworld is not an airline. It's an alliance. It's most definitely NOT the largest alliance.

Then don't bother? Airline alliance loyalty for people flying the cheapest Y possible (as you apparently are) is for suckers (as you're finding out). You're probably better off just buying whatever's cheapest without reference to what you need.

Lounges are not worth $400 a flight, even if there is free (mediocre) food and drink. Maybe the luggage would be, if you're lugging around a lot of suitcases. But that's most of what you get as an elite flying cheap Y, lounges and luggage (and maybe a greeting as an Emerald on an airplane, or priority boarding/perhaps some reaccommodation due to irregular operations). Not sure that's worth it.

Incidentally, my guess is those cheap Skyteam flights are with China Eastern or China Southern. By all means check them out.

Each alliance pretty much has their own sector of the world they are able to better cater to and sell cheaper fares. Trying to retain AA Plat on discount economy is not easy. I'm pretty sure you're either only looking for code share flights which are normally more expensive. Even if you're not, you are comparing CX/JL flights to China eastern and China southern or even air China on star. So, comparing the top airlines to what could be considered the short bus of airlines.

Each airline prices its flights differently.
Airlines are often cheaper on non-hub routes as they try and attract passengers, so a comparison of 3 routes is not exactly valid.

IMHO oneworld is generally made up of higher service airlines than the other alliances.

I don't know if you can plan in advance or not. From my experience I never find a significant difference in prices between the alliances. That is if you're flexible on the routing. Eg. Direct flights with OW can be more expensive than indirect flights on other alliances.

I usually start planning 4 to 6 months out (I know this is not possible for business travel but as your question is regarding pricing I think it's regarding leisure trips). I compare rates to find a reasonable price and then I start monitoring OW rates to reach this price level.
Over the last years I never had to pay more for a OW flight.

I'm based in EU and my experience is mainly with AA, BA, AB and AY.