Looks like ow is looking at a plan to merge the FFP's of the individual airlines into one, "under a stand-alone company."

The project group exploring the FFP options is rumored to be codenamed "Monaco". BA director of alliances, John Paterson, said a merged "conglomerate" of FFPs based on a "regional scheme" is being considered.

"Merger can mean a lot of things to different people and there are various ways of the schemes coming together," he said. "We want some sort of scheme to go worldwide rather than being down to individual airlines. But it is hard to resolve that given the intricacies of law and other arrangements."

AA is reportedly leading the "Monaco" project, and a merger of AA's and Canadian's FFPs was reported as a "possible early move." Guess that changes slightly now. Or maybe not.

I think we'd all agree, that one thing we'd like to see is the ability to use miles to upgrade on any of the ow carriers.

I would like to see this one--being able to earn miles on CP and then use them on US would be a Good Thing�. And on the other side too, to be able to get DL and AC miles into the same place... (if one moves, I expect the other will follow).

A merged FF program would, in general, be a good thing. I wonder though if all the 'external partnerships' would be lost as a result. It strikes me that if the alliance airlines merge FF programs then that would need to be on a (more or less) exclusive basis. I find it hard to see the attraction to oneworld of thousands of Americans accruing miles on US to be able to redeem them all over the globe on OW. The only realistic case I can see for external FF partnerships would be in regions not well served by the alliance, which therefore demonstrates an intrinsic weakness in the alliance.

James, do you think US wants to see an influx of overseas travellers claiming award seats on US flights? I doubt it. The alliance thing works both ways, although I will admit that US travellers are more advantaged by getting access to overseas destinations. With AA part of the alliance, its not clear why US would benefit anyone.

Curiously, AA's reason for eliminating mileage expiration had nothing to do with making the FF program more competitive as some believe. It was driven strictly by revenue considerations. According to one article I read on-line (sorry can't recall where it was), AA was not getting as much revenue from selling FF miles to other firms as some other airlines were (like DL). Customers were steering away from collecting AA miles because of the expiration and opting for miles from FF programs with fewer expiration rules. This mirrors my own experience quite well. I usually stayed away from building a big balance of miles with AA or UA because of the expiration thing. Now I can feel free to hand Hilton my AA FF # when I double dip!!

It would benefit me because US actually flies to my city. No 1w carrier does.

IMHO, such a merged program would be a disaster for most people on this board. Imagine how few promotions would be offered as airlines stop competing in this area. No more chances of going for 4 OW 100K awards, or other such fun things. Worse yet, imagine how simple those Star Alliance and One World Charts would be. Ugh! Simplicity is hell! Imagine everyone being able to figure out the program and getting elite status easier than ever because all their miles go to one place! Imagine how many Platinums, 1K's etc etc etc there would be. Is that worth the simple added feature of a few extra cities being added to your favorite program. No way! If AA is really looking into this, it isn't for our benefit, though they may try to throw that out, it will certainly be to their benefit, not ours.

Having said that, well, it might help a lot of people, including me at some times. I think the one world airlines already have a great program by allowing their cross posting and elite benefits while flying the other OW airlines, then each one has its own preexisting partners, giving everyone the ability to match their favored airline to the OW partner it is in league with and go from there. Grouping them all together would likely cause some ugly battles with Justice, EU regulators, etc, better to stay with the status quo.

Of course, if that happened, *Alliance would really be pushed into advancing their program cooperation.

hmm.

I didn't mean to cause you any offence Mile King and I apologise if I did. You got my point though - the ability to accrue on Oneworld and redeem on US is in principle much less attractive than the other way round. This must be true from a OneWorld business point of view. This is not least because OW has a US based carrier (AA) who would (substantially) be losing business to US as those (flown) miles were accrued.

James, no offence taken or intended. My comment does seem a bit tart - I must have been in a bad mood when I posted.

Thanks, Mile King.

I think one program will definitely simplify things, but I can see some things coming down the pike that will cause heartburn for many of us.

a) how will upgrades (electronic, miles, certificates) be rationalized across the carriers when some give them (quite freely) and some are adamantly against them (BA/QF).

b) elite qualification - is markedly different depending on the carrier. I think rationalization will result in even higher qualification levels, undoubtedly based on mileage and fare paid.

c) bonuses - likely to diminish or disappear completely.

Food for thought...

MGM - right on target - I really believe that the one area that this falls apart is on the upgrades - You are absolutely correct - BA and Qantas despise upgrades - even when the upgraded class is empty - Had a BA sales rep come to see me and ask how he could "get" my 10-15 C Class US - Europe trips per year - My answer - offer me upgrades - His answer - "We are British Airways and we do not upgrade because we do not have to - we sell our F class" Obviously, I do not fly BA - If BA was willing to participate, a good first step would be to cooperate in AAdvantage by offering one class upgrade awards - time will tell - kazman

Reflecting on Burkey's original post, is that one of the reasons the ff programs would be consolidated on a 'regional basis', allowing upgrades in the American region where they are (commercially) a requirement, but allowinhg BA/QF to avoisd them on a rest of the world basis? I don't know for sure as I am UK based, but it is my understanding that the US BA Executive club does offer upgrades to its members.

perhaps BA might also consider the cost savings of a consolidated program to outweigh the inconveneince of having to award a few upgardes?

A combined frequent flyer programme was what some of us had to live through with Swissair/Austrian/Sabena/LaudaAir/Crossair/Tyroleans' QUALIFLYER programme.

Now with SR & OS's divorce, it would be interesting to see who gets to keep the Qualifyer name.