Alliances

RE: Alliances

Well ,
I’m member of both SkyTeam and Star.
On flight service is quite similar.

I have to fly to LAX or SFO roughly 5 or 6 times a year and I have chosen Star for 2 main reasons:

– Mileage prgram is much more flexible. AF has embargos when you want
to get a free ticket and it’s a drag to find a date.
United is very flexible and I never had any problem with them.

– STRIKES !!!!! As you know , strikes are a national sport in our country and I have been stuck so many with AF that I have definitely chosen UA.

I just made an exeption on last Feb flying Delta since I got free tickets from a family member.

RE: Alliances

Ansett was the best domestic airline in Australia and the poorer cousin to qantas courtesy of Air New Zealand shocking management

RE: Alliances

I agree with Kabir star is the biggest and most popula but i prefer oneworld the service and quality of the airlines is much better.

RE: Alliances

If you compare in size, Star Alliance is bigest, if you compare in service, efficience…One World is a step further. I am a member of Star Alliance, and they are quite good, I travel alot with SAS(cause they always upgrade me:)).

RE: Alliances

p.s IMHO!

Stables.

RE: Alliances

yes i was going to say that! hilarious!

Ansett were always the poor relation to Qantas.

Stables.

RE: Alliances

yes, it’s small, but I said potentially… Skyteam have only been in existance for just over 12 months, after all…

RE: Alliances

By the way…

…like the way I cleverly crossed out Ansett Australia using MS Paint? 🙂

RE: Alliances

Compared to Star Alliance and Oneworld, do you not think this Skyteam seems a bit small? Only Delta and Air France are part of that alliance and the rest are relatively small airlines.

RE: Alliances

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 08-04-02 AT 08:25 PM (GMT)]probably depends where you’re coming from…

I fly mainly BA, so for me it’s oneworld, although I am a member of UAL mileage plus, too, so I’m not bothered which one I fly.

Potentially, Skyteam could be a big one, too:

Air France
Delta
Alitalia
AeroMexico
Korean Air
CSA Czech Airlines

RE: Alliances

Good question, but I’d say Oneworld Alliance as they have American, BA and Cathay Pacific, some very large airlines… although Star Alliance has Varig and Lufthansa. It’s a very tricky question..!
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RE: Alliances

Also, mergers will result in the loss of individual airline brands i.e. Canadian Airlines, TWA etc. Mergers are easier to manage than alliances, but if the two airline’s cultures do not match, mergers are difficult to unwind. Alliances offer airlines the ability to leave should cultures not match and offer the protection of an airline’s independence and brand identity. If you merge operations and lose brand names, you could endanger and alienate your passenger base. Mergers are also difficult to manage in terms of timetable and fleet realignment i.e. Air Canada and Canadian Airlines.

RE: Alliances

I have just done my undergraduate honours degree dissertation on the future of airline alliances.

I interviewed the Director of Strategy at BA and British European and the Managing Director of Birmingham Airport to find out more.

Alliance are essential in the current industry climate. Falling passenger yields, lower profitability, high fuel prices and more importantly, the deregulation of many of the world’s air markets, has increased the need for airlines to consolidate their operations with other airlines in order to achieve greater benefits of scale and scope.

At present, government restrictions on foreign ownership prevent many cross-border mergers/acquisitions from occuring. Also, the acquisition of one airline of a foreign competitor, would jepadise an airline’s international air service agreements, and may mean the loss of rights to fly certain routes.
Until restrictions on ownership are removed, mergers/acquisitions will remain virtually impossible to achieve.

Alliances enable airlines to achieve the economies of scope which mergers/acquisitions offer. However, mergers offer double the economies of scope than alliances, which means that mergers are more favourable to airlines. The main benefit of alliances to airlines is the need to achieve greater market spread through complimentary route networks. Alliances enable airlines to increase brand penetration in markets, enter new markets which may have been previously out of reach to them, and to cut down substantially on route development costs.
Anti-trust immunity will enable alliance members to share revenue and profits and jointly set prices, although an open skies deal must be in place between their countries.
Alliance offer economies of scope through joint procurement costs, aircraft purchasing and the elimination of duplicated operations and routes.

Alliances increase route networking presence via alliance hubs i.e. Star’s Frankfurt – BA’s Heathrow and Skyteam’s Paris CDG.
Airline competition is likely to occur more between alliance networks and their hubs in the future, rather than between indidivual airlines.

Alliances are merely a pre-cursor to mergers. Alliance group members are likely to merge in the future, when restrictions on ownership are finally removed. The result will be mega-carriers.

RE: Alliances

Alliances are a good way for the airlines to guarantee the high yield passengers which are the ones who interest the airlines. I don´t find them too positive since it means, less competition, big monopolies, higher prices, and a threaten to small independent airlines, which are the ones which take the risk of operating in regional markets, because it too hard for a competetion in the hubs.

RE: Alliances

Well One world offers it’s pax excellent advantages find more at oneworld.com

RE: Alliances

I would like to know that the star allience has just let singapore airlines into the allience, which is said to probrably bring virgin into the star allience. But BM is in the star allience, and although they are not competing against each other at the moment. Once BM gets its A-330’s it will be in direct competition with virgin on some US routes.

RE: Alliances

Not really. The more, the merrier. AS LONG as safety & service standards are kept up or BROUGHT up to the standards of the BEST members of the Alliance. Don’t forget that alliances DO have benefits for the public as well as the shareholders.

RE: Alliances

alliances have gone haywire, with airlines trying to cut costs and open new routes by utilising the friendship at different levels.more smaller carriers should be introduced into such gatherings, such as from africa, as to help them develop into better airlines.

RE: Alliances

I think SA is getting too big. Isn’t there even some competitors as a member? I like more those alliances where is not so many members.

RE: Alliances

Typical of Air New Zealand to bump up prices 37%, I gather they still have to same awful “service” as they did when I flew with them. Some things never change, except the prices!!