• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Alaska Airlines • OneWorld  >  Alaska Airlines Joining oneworld Doesn’t Assure Program’s Demise
Alaska AirlinesOneWorld

Alaska Airlines Joining oneworld Doesn’t Assure Program’s Demise

Kyle Stewart Posted onFebruary 16, 2020September 13, 2021 7 Comments

This week, Alaska Airlines joining oneworld made headlines. Many critics were quick to assume the death of one of the greatest loyalty programs in the world. Joining oneworld doesn’t have to mean Mileage Plan’s demise.


If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.


If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.

Alaska Airlines Joining oneworld in 2021

The airline world is divided into alliance members, JV partners and independent carriers. Of those alliances, oneworld has the fewest carriers though many contend some excellent members. LATAM, the Latin American juggernaut sold a substantial stake of their business to Delta and as such has decided to exit the alliance in favor of SkyTeam where Delta is a member.

onewold needed a win and they got one by adding Alaska Airlines to the fold when they become full members in just over two years. Alaska had previously considered membership in the lesser “connect” format used for a partner who provides connecting traffic but is not ready to fully commit to the alliance.

Why Mileage Plan Is Great

Mileage Plan has been the darling of US loyalty enthusiasts for a long time due to a number of factors.

  • They have lower award prices than any other carrier.
  • Alaska has the most diverse group of partners (spanning all alliances and many non-alliance partners)
  • They award miles based on actual distance flown
  • The number of miles awarded based on elite status is generous

They are also in love with their hometown of Seattle, have an extensive west coast network and have been very customer-friendly.

Why They Won’t Necessarily Change

The conclusion drawn by many critics and bloggers including Matthew (don’t be mad) is that changes will come to the above attributes and the very things that make Alaska beloved will die. I don’t take the same fatalistic approach for a few reasons.

Seattle is still a battleground for Alaska with their former partner, Delta. It’s been everything but blood in the streets and the battle continues. If Alaska cedes any ground, Delta will pounce. Relinquishing their unique and generous program would take away their advantage against Delta.

Alaska relies on traffic from their many partners for onward connections in the US some of which are oneworld members. Others like Emirates, El Al, and LATAM won’t be able to offer as much of the US without Alaska and the carrier wants to continue to offer direct flights to the rest of the world through partners like these. While the old days of alliances would practically force airlines to abandon all others in favor of alliance members, that’s not the case any more. Qantas’s tie-up with Emirates is just one example of many.

They will still compete with American within the US, having a differentiator in their loyalty program could help them keep their domestic market share.

It Won’t Matter If They Do Change

Here’s the part where I join my fatalistic brethren. Almost every other carrier has moved away from miles awarded by distance and I fear it’s only a matter of time at Alaska as well. Undoubtedly, Mileage Plan managers have already examined the benefits and consequences of such a switch.

If they do make the switch, raise rates for redemptions and dismiss their partners outside of oneworld, they will suffer a fate of commonality with the rest of the US carriers. Their one exception to commonality is that they won’t have the vast network with which customers can fly Alaska Airlines routes as they do with American, United and Delta.

Conclusion

I can understand why many feel that this may be the death of the last great loyalty program in the US. They are one of the few carriers where I store miles and points outside of my primary carrier. I am playing this as more of a wait-and-see rather than burn my miles before their membership begins. Time will tell if that is wise or foolish.

What do you think? Is Alaska’s membership with oneworld the end of Mileage Plan as we know it? Is the assumption of the program’s demise a little premature?

Previous Article Fascinating: How Mary, Mother Of Jesus, Is Perceived Around The World
Next Article So What If Bernie Sanders Flies First Class?

About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

Related Posts

  • JetBlue Paris

    Irrefutable Proof The JetBlue-Spirit Merger Hurts Consumers

    March 12, 2023
  • JetBlue spirit merger NEA

    JetBlue-Spirit Airlines Merger: DOJ Drags Feet On Suit

    March 5, 2023
  • JetBlue American Airlines

    JetBlue’s Two-Faced Approach To American Airlines

    February 19, 2023

7 Comments

  1. Paul Reply
    February 16, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    Do you mean ensure?

  2. WR2 Reply
    February 16, 2020 at 2:06 pm

    Partner award sweet spots, CX and JL in particular, are absolutely going to get nerfed, take it to the bank. Currently AS has access to less inventory than OW partners. In effect they are selling the extreme extra capacity to AS at a discount. Once AS has the same access as other OW partners then the price will have to go up. If you primarily plan to use your AS miles on partner F/J, you’d be more foolish than your beloved buddy debit to wait and see.

    • Russell Heinemann Reply
      February 16, 2020 at 10:17 pm

      If they were to down grade their mileage program from miles actually flown to cost of ticket, they would lose a lot of my business.
      I fly 25,000 miles/year, often paying more, and my flights with Alaska would drop dramatically.

    • Frank katt Reply
      February 17, 2020 at 11:03 pm

      As a gold 75, if they switch to a revenue based system, I will not fly them anymore.

  3. Steve Reply
    February 16, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    I think Alaska will keep crediting miles and elite qualifying miles the same, but their award chart will definitely change. Look at each of their partners, Qantas, JAL, and Cathay are the only three partners out of the dozen that are actually sweetspots airlines. Alaska has no issue to keep their existing partners, but the three sweetspots will be gone in a blink of an eye as Alaska loves to devalue each partner one by one.

  4. Ex- United flier Reply
    February 17, 2020 at 1:14 am

    @Kyle: Readers in this forum, including you, are experience and smart. They comment based on experience and statistics. Alaska doesn’t want to upset its FF pax by changing everything at once. The experienced fliers are not naive either.

  5. Robert Reply
    February 19, 2020 at 10:50 am

    While it doesn’t assure its demise it certainly doesn’t assure its future either

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • Avianca 787-8 Business Class Review
    Review: Avianca 787-8 Business Class March 20, 2023
  • Color Blind Pilot Sues United Airlines For Firing Him March 20, 2023
  • Ryanair Twitter
    Ryanair Savagely Trolls Passenger On Twitter March 20, 2023
  • hyatt all-inclusive hyatt zilara rose hall
    Hyatt Acquisition Provides Hints About All-Inclusive Future March 19, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • American Airlines unaccompanied Minor Predator
    American Airlines Flight Attendant Freaks Out After Man Offers His First Class Seat To Child February 25, 2023
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) February 21, 2023
  • Bankman-Fried Alaska Airlines
    Poor Sam Bankman-Fried “Downgrades” From American Airlines Business Class To Alaska Airlines First Class February 20, 2023
  • There’s A Pilot In My Seat! February 21, 2023

Archives

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.