OK, it's time for a post I've been meaning to make for a long time now, which I finally was pushed to make after a comment I read yesterday. I hear on an almost weekly basis, "Yeah, the Star Alliance is starting to suck, they're letting EgyptAir, Air China, Shanghai Air, Air India, etc. into…
Continue reading: Why bad airlines joining a quality alliance can be a GREAT thing!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I think Air India is up and coming, and supposed to be pretty decent. I've heard they have good legroom in Y, especially in the lonnnnnnng flights to Bombay from JFK, and their Y class food is heralded as some of the best in the business. I'm not so sure about how their premium cabins handle, but, again, I think they are making fleetwide improvements.
I certainly agree with you about the travel flexibility afforded to you with the Chines airlines, and that one can now book intra-China segments. I'm benefiting from Air China's PVG - PEK service on my upcoming award ticket.
To a certain extent I agree, but it's your last paragraph where I don't really agree. I feel that by allowing so-so airlines into the mix you are in the grand scheme of things "cheapening" the alliance as a whole. No real evidence of this but an SQ ticket (in my opinion) is far superior to well basically any other airline either for purchase or reward(most importantly for those of us who primarily fly say AC or UA), therefore doesn't this make SQ make award tickets harder to get? Also if I were to know nothing about code shares and I booked and SQ ticket in Biz from X to X and the last or first segments put me on an airline that is sub-SQ standard doesn't that devalue your(SQ's that is) over all product?
The more carriers the better as an AC flyer but let's get something going to South America, ie a serious carrier there, a few more *A carriers to S.A. would be a good thing in my books.
BTW do you have a layover in you CX YYZ-HKG in yyz this time?
All good points Monty. At the same time, if you're booked on an SQ ticket and fly basically any other Star carrier (possibly with the exception of NH and OZ), you'll be disappointed.
I agree something in South America would be nice. There's a MASSIVE hole in the network with the complete lack of anything substantial in SA. At least CO will offer a bit more US-SA service, which is at least something. Still, we need a regionally based carrier.
I'll have about 14 hours in YYZ that day, so hopefully we can work something out!