Star Alliance just celebrated its 25 year anniversary this month. As a result, we thought it would be a good idea to update our airline alliance rundown post.
There are 3 worldwide major airline alliances, as well as 3 regional alliances that we will mention further down the post.
It has been just over a year since we last updated this post. The most significant change that would affect Canadians is adding Alaska Airlines to Oneworld Alliance. Now my hope is for WestJet to join an alliance themselves too.
There are 3 worldwide major airline alliances, as well as 3 regional alliances that we will mention further down the post.
It has been almost a year since I last updated this post. With so much “up in the air” for airlines, who knows who will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. So in the meantime, I would like to update the current list of members of each major airline alliance. I am hoping that we can avoid bankruptcies, and maybe see some mergers happen for survival. Mergers and acquisitions would probably save more jobs (not to mention salvage frequent flyer programs) than a flat out bankruptcies.
Another reason I triggered this update is the possibility of Alaska Airlines being added to Oneworld Alliance. Maybe WestJet should look into joining an alliance too?
Airline alliances have really revolutionised frequent flyer programs. Having codeshare partners has really increased the value of many loyalty programs by giving us to ability to redeem miles with one airline to use on partner airlines.For today’s post, many affiliate airlines have been discontinued, so I thought this post was due for an update. I also added the connecting partners mentioned by one of our readers from last time.
It has been over a year since I last updated this post, especially with OneWorld, so I thought it was due for an update as there were several changes to update.
Personal Airline Alliance Portfolio
As usual, here is a quick recap of my personal portfolio, which has not changed much. I was expecting to shake things up due to the Aeroplan and Air Canada break up, but that does not seem to be happening anymore.
In Canada, after Aeroplan, I would say, British Airways’ Executive Club Avios are the easiest miles to collect without flying. Canadian financial institutions offer a wide range of options to earn Avios. Personally I have an Executive Club account and I rack up most of my Avois through transfer partners and taking advantage of transfer bonuses (see below).
Delta Air Lines is one of the most prominent foreign airlines that flies through Canada. That being said, I would be more than happy if they continued to expand their presence here. Today, I will provide an updated rundown on Delta’s rewards program, SkyMiles for Canadians.
Expiry Policy
Delta SkyMiles is one of the rare programs that do not have an expiry policy, regardless of activity. So I am more than happy to give them my business.
American Airlines (AA) announced back in November that they are expanding its service in Canada, including more frequency of its existing routes (see “List of Destinations Departing from Canadian Airports” section). So I thought that this post was due for an update. AA is a member of Oneworld alliance and has a rewards program called AAdvantage. Unfortunately, their rewards program took a hit, as their redemption schedule has become more expensive. However, they are the Oneworld airline with the biggest presence in Canada.
Airline alliances frequently change their members. This list was due for an update from last time. Most significantly, I added two regional airline alliances: U-Fly Alliance and Value Alliance.
Personal Airline Alliance Portfolio
As usual, a quick recap of my personal portfolio. Basically, I have at least one core frequent flyer program per airline alliance that I can bank all my miles to on paid flights. Most of my personal trips have been on reward flights, which is why you may not see me utilizing many different programs.
Delta Air Lines has a fair amount of flights coming into Canada. Of course I would like to see more, to help with the competition. Today’s post is a rundown on how Canadians can utilize Delta’s rewards program called SkyMiles.
Note that Delta Air Lines is a member of SkyTeam. Personally, I rarely fly with SkyTeam, but if I do, I bank my miles to Delta because of its expiry policy.