Which one airline do you wish was in the SA and why?
Jul 29, 2011, 10:43 am
#1
Original Poster
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Which one airline do you wish was in the SA and why?
For me I think I go with BA. Having a London hub for stopovers and cheap connections on Ryan and Easyjet would be great
Jul 29, 2011, 2:20 pm
#2
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Based on my travel plans this year I´d say: Air Rarotonga 
Seriously, I wouldn´t mind exchanging SQ for CX, other than that BA, QF and LAN all have a large network which I wouldn´t mind taking advantage of.
However, I don´t expect any of the large OW or ST members to "change sides" to *A anytime soon. There are still a few decent non-alliance members out there (and a whole lot more of mediocre ones) which may join *A, but I wouldn´t necessarily say I´m too thrilled about that prospect.
Seriously, I wouldn´t mind exchanging SQ for CX, other than that BA, QF and LAN all have a large network which I wouldn´t mind taking advantage of.
However, I don´t expect any of the large OW or ST members to "change sides" to *A anytime soon. There are still a few decent non-alliance members out there (and a whole lot more of mediocre ones) which may join *A, but I wouldn´t necessarily say I´m too thrilled about that prospect.
Jul 29, 2011, 2:33 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ , QF , MK
Posts: 1,372
I can't really limit myself to one carrier though. In no particular order of preference:
Virgin Australia, it would be useful, though far from essential to have domestic Aussie on the *A network.
LAN - not for itself as such but because it would keep JJ in *A - there would also be the added benefit that it might render a certain poster on A.net temporarily speechless, in fact, now that I think about it, that would be my top reason and keeping JJ would fall into second place.
9W - purely because the AI mess has dragged on for far too long.
Jul 29, 2011, 8:58 pm
#10
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Jul 29, 2011, 9:16 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
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The Entire Virgin consortium. Virgin Atlantic, -America, -Blue & V-Australia.
It would fix the intra-OZ tranport problem, give a real lock on US domestic travel, give a UK routing hub, and bring in another airline known for good consistent service vs GREAT on 1 or 2 routes and lackluster on others.
It would fix the intra-OZ tranport problem, give a real lock on US domestic travel, give a UK routing hub, and bring in another airline known for good consistent service vs GREAT on 1 or 2 routes and lackluster on others.
Jul 29, 2011, 10:07 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2011
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I'd also rather have CX over SQ. SQ is world-class, but they treat *G as nothing, PPS is deeply flawed (imo) and I'm not entirely convinced with their premium product. I think CX is better in almost every regard except for food in Y and the Kangaroo Route. Losing SQ for CX would allow Oneworld to have a near-monopoly on LHR-SYD flights. (SIN is more convenient than HKG) Regardless, being able to earn miles on CX while flying AC would be a dream come true!
Other airlines I'd like to see in *A would be:
VS: Complements BD's short-haul network well with long-hauls out of LHR. Great style and product, maybe a little too "sexy", especially compared to BA which is anything but.
9W: An Indian carrier joining is inevitable, so it might as well be the best one. I'm sure they could work out a way to split the market with LH and they both offer good products so it would make things only better for customers.
BA has a network any carrier would be jealous of and while they're a symbol of reliability and unity across the old Empire, I think I would rather have VS and BD instead. Unless my travel patterns force me to go to a lot of obscure places or fly LHR-JFK a lot, I'll accept fewer destinations in exchange for the Virgin style.
As for the other Virgin family members (VX and DJ), I'm pretty indifferent. I think VX has the best domestic NA product but I wouldn't give up UA/CO for them! Australia is in a similar situation as Canada, I think DJ joining *A is as likely as WS joining OW.
Other airlines I'd like to see in *A would be:
VS: Complements BD's short-haul network well with long-hauls out of LHR. Great style and product, maybe a little too "sexy", especially compared to BA which is anything but.
9W: An Indian carrier joining is inevitable, so it might as well be the best one. I'm sure they could work out a way to split the market with LH and they both offer good products so it would make things only better for customers.
BA has a network any carrier would be jealous of and while they're a symbol of reliability and unity across the old Empire, I think I would rather have VS and BD instead. Unless my travel patterns force me to go to a lot of obscure places or fly LHR-JFK a lot, I'll accept fewer destinations in exchange for the Virgin style.
As for the other Virgin family members (VX and DJ), I'm pretty indifferent. I think VX has the best domestic NA product but I wouldn't give up UA/CO for them! Australia is in a similar situation as Canada, I think DJ joining *A is as likely as WS joining OW.
Jul 29, 2011, 10:27 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2010
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I'd like to see Alaska Air join Star Alliance. I have a ton of Alaska Air miles and ever since Delta took over Northwest, it's become very difficult if not impossible to use my AS miles to get business or first class award tickets to Europe. Using my Alaska Air credit card much less now and my United credit card much more.
Jul 29, 2011, 10:40 pm
#15
Join Date: Jul 2005
Programs: SQ *Gold
Posts: 871
Now that I'm living in Singapore, I'm happy to have SQ in the alliance, though I concur with a previous poster's sentiment that as a member airline SQ is deeply flawed.
The separation of *Golds into the 'Krisflyer Gold' lounge at SIN instead of the Silver Kris Lounge is obnoxious to say the least. The Silver Kris Lounge at LHR is also pretty bare bones. I can also see how people describe SQ service as over-rated. I flew J from LHR-SIN and didn't think the in-flight service was any better than other main-line global carriers, though I admit that the food was far better than I've had on UA, AC, LH, LX and SA.
Also very surprised that SQ doesn't operate an arrivals lounge at SIN. I suppose they could make the argument that the airport is only 20minutes from the city centre so an arrivals lounge serves less purpose than in other major hubs. Still though, it seems like a glaring omission.
The separation of *Golds into the 'Krisflyer Gold' lounge at SIN instead of the Silver Kris Lounge is obnoxious to say the least. The Silver Kris Lounge at LHR is also pretty bare bones. I can also see how people describe SQ service as over-rated. I flew J from LHR-SIN and didn't think the in-flight service was any better than other main-line global carriers, though I admit that the food was far better than I've had on UA, AC, LH, LX and SA.
Also very surprised that SQ doesn't operate an arrivals lounge at SIN. I suppose they could make the argument that the airport is only 20minutes from the city centre so an arrivals lounge serves less purpose than in other major hubs. Still though, it seems like a glaring omission.
Last edited by jbb; Jul 30, 2011 at 4:38 am