Would you like Emirates (EK) to join Star?
Jun 12, 2004, 1:32 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wuppertal
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 428
YES
EK is a great airline and offers very convenient connections between Australia and Europe and would add good Middle Eastern/North Africa destinations to *A. Their service is great and they also offer limo transfers at both departure and arrival airports for J and F classs passengers. My parents travel on them alot as they offer a substantial seniors discount. Both my parents have gold status in the EK FF program and get op-up to F very regularly, even on reward tickets.
Would be nice to see them in *A sometime soon.
EK is a great airline and offers very convenient connections between Australia and Europe and would add good Middle Eastern/North Africa destinations to *A. Their service is great and they also offer limo transfers at both departure and arrival airports for J and F classs passengers. My parents travel on them alot as they offer a substantial seniors discount. Both my parents have gold status in the EK FF program and get op-up to F very regularly, even on reward tickets.
Would be nice to see them in *A sometime soon.
Jun 12, 2004, 2:15 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2001
Programs: AA EXP, BA Gold, UA LT-Gold, SPG Plat, HH Dia, Hyatt Dia, MR Gold
Posts: 2,221
Originally Posted by cslusarc
Would you like to see Emirates (EK) and their minority-owned subsidiary, SriLankan, to join Star?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=320842
Last edited by ws8n; Jun 12, 2004 at 2:19 pm
Jun 12, 2004, 11:08 pm
#8
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Programs: QF Platinum One (LTG), UA Plat IHG Plat
Posts: 5,836
EK would be great in Star. UL.. well they're kind of like JK or LO... looks good in marketing and good for a few people on cheap CMB fares (!) but not much use on a global scale.
EK strikes me though as the SQ of the 2000's. By that I mean SQ spent a lot of the 90's amasing partners for their own feed/benefit (eg: DL, AN, NZ, LH, VS, SA, etc) which was all about SQ and far less about those other carriers. I think SQ was facing some realities when it eventually relented and joined Star (and even now SQ is trying to spin its Star membership for as much of its own benefit more than being a more willing member). EK aspires, and has the growth, to be _the_ airline of this decade - they have the quality service and products (the new F is supposed to outclass SQ) and global reach from DXB, and trying for all EK metal RTW flying via AKL and the 345's. EK does not *need* Star since on many routes they would likely just take traffic and revenue from EK. If EK wants feed it simply opens up the route. Sure, they have some partners but EK seems to want to run it as a one man show, plus right now they don't *need* the alliance players.
This is in contrast to, for example, SA, who realises they are a niche player in an importanrt and underserved market (alliance wise) - Africa. They could use the Star feed at connecting ports such as US gateways, LHR, SIN etc...
To summerise this long post I think EK would be fantastic to have in Star, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon given EK's current profile.
EK strikes me though as the SQ of the 2000's. By that I mean SQ spent a lot of the 90's amasing partners for their own feed/benefit (eg: DL, AN, NZ, LH, VS, SA, etc) which was all about SQ and far less about those other carriers. I think SQ was facing some realities when it eventually relented and joined Star (and even now SQ is trying to spin its Star membership for as much of its own benefit more than being a more willing member). EK aspires, and has the growth, to be _the_ airline of this decade - they have the quality service and products (the new F is supposed to outclass SQ) and global reach from DXB, and trying for all EK metal RTW flying via AKL and the 345's. EK does not *need* Star since on many routes they would likely just take traffic and revenue from EK. If EK wants feed it simply opens up the route. Sure, they have some partners but EK seems to want to run it as a one man show, plus right now they don't *need* the alliance players.
This is in contrast to, for example, SA, who realises they are a niche player in an importanrt and underserved market (alliance wise) - Africa. They could use the Star feed at connecting ports such as US gateways, LHR, SIN etc...
To summerise this long post I think EK would be fantastic to have in Star, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon given EK's current profile.
Jun 13, 2004, 7:35 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: ORD, DXB, ODS, SIN, BUR
Programs: UA1KMM, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, EY Gold, QR Gold
Posts: 302
Every announcement *Alliance makes I hope is for EK. I simply love the service, the food, and the vision the airlines has! They need a partner in the Middle East, and EK is simply the best. GF is not that great, and Qatar is growing but still not close to EK.
Jun 14, 2004, 11:35 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
What RichardMEL said! It would be great to have them in Star, but EK's strategy has been to strike bilateral agreements where it suits them, without having to deal with the expense, politics and inflexibility of a large alliance.
Jun 17, 2004, 6:58 pm
#12
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan SE AND 1MM, HHonors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum , L'Accor Platinum
Posts: 9,580
I was on Ted yesterday, and I read the UA magazine. I understand that UA and EK are FF partners - does that mean that the reciprocal benefits between those 2 airlines are similar to the reciprocal benefits between UA and other Star Alliance carriers?
Do any other Star Alliance carriers have a FF partnership with EK?
Do any other Star Alliance carriers have a FF partnership with EK?
Jun 17, 2004, 11:24 pm
#13
Moderator, Hilton Honors
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: on a short leash
Programs: some
Posts: 71,422
Jun 18, 2004, 1:18 am
#14
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: weekdays:ATL; weekends:Elsewhere
Posts: 1,094
No special treatment on EK for Premier members.
Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
I was on Ted yesterday, and I read the UA magazine. I understand that UA and EK are FF partners - does that mean that the reciprocal benefits between those 2 airlines are similar to the reciprocal benefits between UA and other Star Alliance carriers?
No, in fact there really are not any reciprocal benefits. The only benefit that a UA Mileage Plus member enjoys when traveling on EK is the ability to earn miles. The miles earned do NOT count toward Premier status. Mileage Plus members can also redeem awards for travel on EK, however the mileage required seems quite high. More details can be found using this link.