Hi all - not sure if this is in the right place [mods, please move as needed].

Which do you feel is the better alliance, *A or oneworld, and why? I am currently FF with USAirways' program, which is *A. With the US-AA merger pending, and AA being part of oneworld, that will default me into the combined AA-oneworld program. I've liked *A and much of my current travel is NA and UK. Don't really get too far or often to other regions. I'm wondering if I should jump to another *A partner (UA), or move/stay to the combined AA plan whenever that comes to pass? I chose US because for my home town it was the only option for a long time. I've stayed with US even when UA came to town (as CO), and later Delta.

Thoughts, please? Thanks!

Where is your hometown?

The conveniences and elite privileges of an alliance are really secondary to those of your "native" program, and there is arguably as much variation within alliances as between them� you're more likely to find a flight on *A Singapore much more comparable to OW Cathay Pacific than to OW airBerlin. And, as with your home airline, the "best" alliance depends on your travel patterns and priorities.

It's still far too early to tell what will happen with the merger. We don't know what the FF program will look like, or what they will inherit from legacy AAdvantage or DM. US currently has the most departures out of ITH, but they might cut some of them, making DL or UA more competitive. They might decide to route ITH flights through JFK instead of PHL. They might switch Express contractors, or replace them with Eagle, and they might change the equipment. I would look at all of these things before thinking about the impact of an alliance change, especially since you say most of your travel is domestic aside from the UK (where AA/BA offer the most seats and flights). It will be months before it all shakes out.

Really depends if you fly internationally. UA could get you one-stop from Ithaca to places like Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, and Mumbai.

US Airways (and soon, AA) is only good if you travel primarily domestically and to Western Europe.

DL could also get you to a plethora of destinations via DTW.

I appreciate the feedback. With Ithaca being my home town and much of my travel being in the US domestic market, US has served my needs with frequent flights scheduled throughout the day. AA/Eagle dropped the ITH market nearly two decades ago and never returned.

I recognize it is very early in the US-AA process as well. No telling what may emerge in the months (years) ahead. Just wanted to gauge options in advance.

DL has access to many places, but there are few ITH-DTW flights. Unless things change, DL would not be one of my preferred options.

I was living in Ithaca, when CO arrived. I stayed with US too, until HP took over. And while I miss the old US, I surely miss the burgers at Bryan's Landing.

Given that all operations at ITH are currently by regionals rather than mainline and that US has a longer history at ITH than any other carrier, I do not think that the US-AA merger will cause any change at ITH. Over time, and it isn't known, there may be changes at PHL which would indirectly effect you.

One thing that might be done, at some point, with ITH service is to combine it with service at ELM, BGM -- viz. an ITH-BGM-PHL flight. An ITH-ELM-ORD flight is not beyond possibilities. But, AA/US will have many more things on their mind than tweaking existing regional services.