Vote for Rotary in United Airline's charity miles give away

As a Rotarian, I seek your help. It will take only about two minutes of your time.

As an annual charity event, United Airlines donates 10 million airline miles to various non-profit charities. Each participating nonprofit partner is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 25,000 miles. The remaining portion of the 10 million total miles will be distributed to all participating nonprofit partners based on the percentage of total votes that each partner received during the voting period.

Please visit the United's 10 Million Charity Miles website and vote at least once a day for Rotary International. You do not have to be a member of Mileage Plus, United's frequent flier program.

Rotary is a global network of volunteers made up of business, professional, and community leaders who meet regularly to plan and carry out civic and humanitarian service activities.

Rotary’s number-one goal is global polio eradication. With partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has eradicated the disease in all but three countries worldwide.

More than 1.2 million Rotarians in over 200 countries and geographical areas belong to 34,000 Rotary clubs.

Charity Miles help Rotary greatly expand its humanitarian reach. Charity Miles provide airfare for volunteers leading polio eradication efforts in Africa, and send U.S. Gift of Life surgical teams to perform life-saving surgeries in Central America. Charity Miles also help students from disadvantaged families participate in Rotary’s international exchange program.

Thank you.

Devesh Agarwal

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Jet Airways and Garuda Indonesia sign code share agreement

Jet Airways and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia have concluded a code share agreement for connectivity between India and Indonesia.

Under the arrangement, using Singapore as a hub, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Garuda Indonesia’s flights between Singapore and Jakarta and Garuda will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ flights between Singapore and Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

The two airlines have also signed a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of each others loyalty programs to accrue and redeem mileage on the code-share flights, the entire domestic network of Garuda Indonesia, and on Jet Airways' complete network, domestic and international.

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Alaska Airlines offers double frequent flier miles from Seattle

By BA Staff

Alaska Airlines is offering members of its Mileage Plan™ frequent flyer programme, double miles on nonstop flights between Seattle and five Californian cities and Las Vegas, till May 31, 2014.

Alaska customers can earn double miles on all flights between Seattle and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Las Vegas. The double miles will also count toward status in the airline's MVP and MVP Gold elite-level programs.

Caroline Boren, Alaska Airlines' managing director of loyalty marketing and customer advocacy said:

"With 62 flights a day between California and Seattle, earning miles and elite status in our award-winning Mileage Plan is easier and faster with Alaska Airlines than any other carrier."

The threshold for Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan members to earn MVP status is only 20,000 miles — 5,000 fewer miles than most other airline frequent flier programs.

Two roundtrip flights between Seattle and Los Angeles would earn enough miles with the double miles offer to qualify for a one-way intra-state award ticket, which requires only 7,500 miles. Double miles are valid on all revenue fare categories on Alaska Airlines

Sample double miles earned: 

Seattle-Los Angeles	1,908 miles roundtrip	3,816 with double miles
Seattle-Las Vegas	1,732 miles roundtrip	3,464 with double miles
Seattle-San Jose	1,392 miles roundtrip	2,784 with double miles
Seattle-San Francisco	1,356 miles roundtrip	2,712 with double miles
Seattle-Oakland	1,342 miles roundtrip	2,684 with double miles
Seattle-Santa Rosa	1,236 miles roundtrip	2,472 with double miles

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Etihad Airways and Korean Air expand codeshare agreement

By BA Staff

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has expanded its codeshare agreement with Korean Air, South Korea’s largest airline, to include six new destinations.

In the second phase of cooperation, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Korean Air services from Seoul Incheon to Honolulu, Vancouver and Hong Kong. Korean Air will place its KE code on Etihad Airways’ flights from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, Muscat and, subject to government approval, Khartoum.

The new arrangements augment the airlines’ existing codeshare services between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon.

Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said the expanded codeshare with Korean Air would enable both airlines to grow their networks in a mutually beneficial way and broaden their appeal to world travellers:

“The three new codeshare destinations enhance Etihad Airways’ business and leisure travel offering to the Asia Pacific and North America. The flights to Honolulu and Vancouver, in particular, will provide convenient one-stop access from Abu Dhabi to these two popular North American destinations. This is a natural development of the codeshare agreement with Korean Air which we signed in July this year, and we look forward to broadening the scope of cooperation even further in the future.” 

Mr Hogan noted that Etihad Airways’ strategy of partnerships with airlines such as Korean Air was helping grow tourism from around the world to its Abu Dhabi home and hub:

 “The introduction of new codeshare routes enables us to rapidly expand our network and drive more leisure and business traffic to and through our Abu Dhabi hub. Last year alone, Etihad Airways carried 10.2 million passengers through Abu Dhabi. Increasing international visitors to Abu Dhabi is key to enabling economic growth in the Emirate and helping realise the Government’s visionary Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. We forecast this trend will continue with the opening of new routes from Asia and North America.”

Etihad Airways and Korean Air have had a successful commercial partnership since August 2009 when the airlines signed a special pro rata agreement and interline partnership. The airlines commenced codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon on July 22, 2013.

Members of Etihad Airways’ Etihad Guest and Korean Air’s SKYPASS loyalty programs enjoy reciprocal benefits. These include lounge access, priority check-in and excess baggage allowances for top tier program members and the ability to earn and burn frequent flyer points on Etihad Airways and Korean Air flights.
 

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SilkAir joins Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer programme

By BA Staff

SilkAir (MI), the regional airline of Singapore Airlines, will become the latest airline partner to join Virgin Australia's Velocity frequent flyer program.

From October 10, 2013 onwards, Velocity members will be able to earn points and status credits or redeem their Points on the SilkAir network across South East Asia, India and China. This includes the ability to redeem points for reward seats or any seat up to 331 days in advance on any Virgin Australia marketed flights.

Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO Neil Thompson said:

“Today’s announcement builds on our existing offering with Singapore Airlines. Asia is a very important market for business and leisure travellers and we now offer the ability to earn Points and Status Credits to more destinations than ever before.”

Velocity’s Gold and Platinum members will also be able to use their Elite Benefits across the SilkAir network including priority check-in, priority boarding and complimentary lounge access for the member and a guest on day of travel.

SilkAir is Singapore Airline’s full service regional subsidiary flying to over 44 destinations across 12 countries. SilkAir flies from Darwin to Singapore, connecting the Northern Territory with Singapore Airlines’ global hub.

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Emirates to give away tickets to the 2013 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix

By BA Staff

Emirates is offering 100 Emirates Skywards members the opportunity to win tickets to the 2013 edition of the Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix event on October 27 in Delhi. Emirates is a Global Partner of Formula 1.

From now until 16th October, Emirates will be giving away 100 tickets to the race. The competition is open to Emirates passengers who book and purchase their tickets on the Emirates India website for travel to one of Emirates’ 135 destinations before 30th November.

Non members will have to join the program to be eligible to enter the competition for their chance to win one of the tickets.

All passengers will be expected to register with a valid Emirates Skywards membership number, and answer a question on Formula 1® correctly.

Brian LaBelle, Senior VP Skywards said:

“Emirates offers 185 weekly flights from its 10 Indian gateways, giving passengers travelling from India an extensive selection of flight options. As of today there are already over 700,000 Emirates Skywards members in India who are already earning Miles on our flights. Miles can also be earned at a wide range of airline, hotel, car rental and financial partners, including India-based partners, such as Jet Airways, the Taj Group and The Standard Chartered Bank of India.”

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Qatar Airways modifies Privilege Club frequent flier programme

By BA Staff

Photo courtesy and copyright Qatar Airways

Ahead of its joining the oneworld alliance, Qatar Airways unveiled details of its exciting new enhancements made to the airline’s frequent flyer programme – Privilege Club. Speaking about the loyalty programme, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that customer loyalty is very important to the airline’s growth strategy:

Since Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club loyalty programme launch in 2000, it has firmly established itself as one of the leading frequent flyer reward programmes in the industry, with benefits designed with the traveller in mind. This is an exciting time to be a Qatar Airways Privilege Club member. As a “thank you” to our many loyal members who have been with the programme since its inception, we are delighted to offer enhanced member benefits.

Some of the new introductions include: 

Introduction of the New Platinum Tier:

Platinum will be introduced as the highest tier level in the programme, offering superior benefits and privileges to members who have earned at least 600 Qpoints within a 12 month period. Qpoints are awarded to members to achieve a particular membership status.

Some of the exciting benefits for Platinum members include:

• Tier bonus of  an additional 100% of the base miles
• Qcredits- a new reward benefit which can be redeemed for a selection of services
• No Qmiles expiry as long as Platinum members retain the Platinum tier.
• 5% online discount on award tickets
• Special discount for purchases at Qatar Duty Free

Qcredits:

A brand new reward benefit, Qcredits will be awarded to Gold and Platinum members and can be redeemed for a selection of services such as complimentary upgrades and Excess Baggage on Qatar Airways flights, payment of award fees (incurred during the change / cancellation of award tickets) and guest lounge access at Doha International Airport.

New Tier Qualification And Renewal Thresholds:

Upgrades to the next membership tier will now be easy to achieve as Qpoints earned within any 12 month period will be evaluated daily. Privilege Club’s tier renewal criteria has been modified to consider flights in the last 12 or 24 months to make tier renewal more convenient.

Enhanced Member Benefits:

The Family programme which allows main members to pool their Qmiles for quicker awards will be offered to the entire Privilege Club member base. In addition to spouse and children, main members will be able to nominate parents as family members

• Reduced fees and surcharges applicable on award tickets
• Enrolment age into the programme has been reduced to 12 years to encourage young frequent travellers to have their own membership accounts
• Qmiles that have expired or are about to expire can be extended for a minimal fee

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Air India and State Bank of India launch co branded credit cards

By BA Staff

Air India and State Bank of India (SBI) have launched two co-branded credit cards. An Air India SBI Signature Visa card, and an Air India SBI Platinum Visa card.

Highlights of the Air India SBI Signature Card

• 4 points for every Rs 100 spent
• 20 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent on Air India website and booking offices
• Bonus reward points on annual spends of
• Rs. 3 lakh - 20,000 bonus reward points
• Rs. 5 lakh - 40,000 bonus reward points
• Rs. 10 lakh - 90,000 bonus reward points

Reward points can be redeemed for

• Air miles - 1 reward point = 1 Air Mile
• Attractive gifts from the SBI Card Rewards Catalogue

Premium privileges include

• 1 complementary domestic upgrade voucher
• Complementary lounge access

More details here.

Highlights of the Air India SBI Platinum Card

• 2 points for every Rs 100 spent
• 10 reward points for every Rs. 100 spent on Air India website and booking offices
• Bonus reward points on annual spends of
  • 2 lakh- 5,000 bonus reward points
  • 3 lakh- 10,000 bonus reward points
• Reward points can be converted to
  • Air India Air Miles for free air travel
• Premium privileges include complementary lounge access 

More details here

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Qatar Airways and British Airways partner on frequent flyer programmes

by BA Staff

Doha-based Qatar Airways has announced a frequent flyer programme (FFP) partnership with its oneworld sponsor, British Airways.

From October 1 onwards, Qatar Airways Privilege Club members and British Airways Executive Club members can earn and redeem miles on each other’s flights.

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Air France and KLM partner with Jet Airways to expand India connectivity

Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, have entered in to a unilateral code-share agreement with India's Jet Airways which will allow them to extend their connectivity to Indian cities which are currently not served by them.

At present Air France and KLM operate 27 flights a week to India. Air France has flights from Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) to Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi, while KLM operates from Amsterdam Schipol to New Delhi. From June 19, 2013, Air France will place its marketing code (AF) on Jet Airways’ domestic flights to Chennai from Bangalore, New Delhi or Mumbai and Kolkata and Hyderabad via Bangalore and Mumbai. Likewise, KLM will place its marketing code (KL) on Jet Airways’ domestic flights to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai via New Delhi.

The three airlines already have a full fledged network-wide accrual and redemption partnership for their frequent flyer programs, Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege and Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue, for many years.

The announcement did not indicate if there will be a reciprocal code-share arrangement where Jet Airways would put its flight numbers on Air France and KLM operated flights between India and Europe. A spokesperson for Air France indicated the agreement was unilateral. Jet Airways did not respond.

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Emirates and Qantas begin their partnership

by Devesh Agarwal

Qantas A380 welcomed with a water cannon salute

Dubai based Emirates and Australian carrier Qantas have officially started their partnership.

The first Qantas flights departed from Sydney and Melbourne to London via Dubai on March 31.

In the partnership the two carriers will collaborate to deliver network, lounges, frequent flyer benefits and travel experiences over 98 flights a week between Australia and Dubai.

A white-paper providing an overview of the Emirates-Qantas partnership at a glance can be download here.

As part of the Qantas-Emirates partnership, there is a synchronisation in the services of the two airlines. The start also marks an enhancement in Qantas services to match those offered by Emirates.

• A return to a Middle East stopover for the Kangaroo route (Sydney-Dubai-London and Melbourne-Dubai-London) following a 30 year absence while it operated via Asia.
• Lounge access for eligible Qantas and Emirates passengers into either airline’s network in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the UK and Europe.
• Chauffeur Drive for Qantas Business and First Class passengers on flights (matching Emirates’ existing service).
• The ability to redeem existing Qantas Frequent Flyer or Emirates Skywards points for flights to 175 destinations worldwide, on both airlines.
• Reciprocal status recognition for frequent flyers across both networks (e.g. priority check-in for Qantas Gold Frequent Flyers when flying Emirates).
• Harmonised baggage policies, including an increase in Qantas’ Economy checked baggage allowance from 23kg to 30kg.

More details about premium class customer service enhancements are at the end of the story.

Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline. said

“The strength of this partnership stems from the fact the Emirates and Qantas brands are an excellent match. Emirates customers using a Qantas lounge or taking a Qantas flight will experience a level of service that is on par with what they expect from Emirates,”

Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Alan Joyce said

Emirates-Qantas partnership flights map

“From today, our customers from Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney have one-stop access to 65 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the UK and Europe via the joint Qantas and Emirates network.

“By travelling through Dubai, Qantas customers can connect to the extensive Emirates network into Europe and the UK and fly directly to their destination,”

“Before today, the Qantas network offered five one-stop code-share destinations into Europe and the UK with our partners. From today, we offer access to 32 destinations in Europe on the combined Qantas and Emirates network.

“The new network will cut average journey times by more than two hours from Melbourne and Sydney to the top 10 destinations in Europe,”

Emirates and Qantas A380s parked at Concourse A, Dubai International Airport

Qantas Premium Class Enhancements

You can also download this document here.

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Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan start codeshare and mileage tie-up

by Devesh Agarwal

Japan Airlines (JAL) will start code-share and mileage program partnership with Jetstar Japan (airline flight code: GK) - a joint-investment with the Qantas Group, Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation.

JAL, which started code-sharing with Jetstar (the Australian LCC) in 2007, on routes between Japan and Australia, will now be codesharing with Jetstar Japan on all its domestic flights for customers connecting to and from JAL's international services at Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka (Kansai) and Nagoya (Chube). JAL will not be selling segments on flights operated by Jetstar Japan that are without connections to JAL's international services.

Customers will be able to create a single itinerary with international and domestic flights with the "JL" code, operated respectively by JAL and Jetstar Japan. This provides a network with a wider choice of flights and timings, as well as faster transfers for customers.

Reservations, sales and JAL mileage redemption of flights operated by Jetstar Japan will begin from February 27, 2013, for flights commencing from March 6, 2013.

JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members can utilise their accrued mileage to redeem tickets on Jetstar Japan flights. Jetstar Japan will be the 17th airline that JAL has similar arrangements. Other airlines with which JAL has mileage tie-ups are all the oneworld alliance members and their subsidiaries, Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7, and Air France, Emirates, China Eastern, Hokkaido Air Commuter, Bangkok Airways beyond the alliance.

For more details on eligible Jetstar Japan routes and required mileage for redemption, visit the dedicated page on JAL's website.

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Photo Essay: Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld, unveils special livery aircraft. oneworld double mileage offer.

by Devesh Agarwal, reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines officially joined the oneworld alliance of airlines, as its 12th member, at 12:01am Malaysia Time (+8 GMT), earlier today.

A day earlier on January 31, the airline had a series of events to celebrate its joining the alliance. Bangalore Aviation was present at the occasion, and brings you this photo essay of the events of the day.

In the morning the airline unveiled its aircraft painted in the special oneworld livery. In the evening, the Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya formally signed the joining contract at a live televised press event. The evening ended with a gala full sit down dinner with over 400 guests.

All ceremonies were attended by the CEOs of oneworld, and its member airlines, uniformed representatives (cabin and customer service crew) of all the airlines, and the world media.

The gala dinner added ministers and senior officers from the Malaysian Government, ambassadors to Malaysia from the home country of each the oneworld member and member-elect airlines, the airlines' most elite frequent flyers, a host of beauty queens, including the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew, amongst others.

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 9M-MTE in special oneworld livery. See another photo here.
This aircraft performed the first flight of the airline as a member of oneworld in the early hours of Feb 1 from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne.

The other 88 aircraft of the airline will wear the oneworld orb near the front doors. One Airbus A380 and one Boeing 737-800 will also be painted in the special oneworld livery in the coming months.

(L-R) Alan Joyce, CEO, QANTAS who sponsored Malaysia Airlines entry in to oneworld, Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya, Bruce Ashby, CEO, oneworld.

AJ Yahya flanked by fellow CEOs, or senior management reps of oneworld member airlines. There is a genuine warmth and affection between Alan and AJ which was visible throughout the day. CEOs who attended the function were Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby, Cathay Pacific Airways Chief Executive John Slosar, Finnair President and Chief Executive Mika Vehvilainen, Japan Airlines Chairman Masaru Onishi, Member elect SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena.

Uniformed cabin crew representatives from each of the oneworld member airlines standing top to bottom of the stairs in alphabetical order. AirBerlin, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, QANTAS, Royal Jordanian, S7 Russian Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. The Master or rather mistress of ceremonies kept referring to the crew as "girls" requesting them to line up, forgetting that British Airways was represented by Mr. Dave.

CEOs, management reps, uniformed reps, and senior Malaysian government, immigration, airports, and customs officers.

In the humid, sticky heat, it was amazing to see how the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew of Ms. Nur Syaza and Mr. Shahrulufti kept their cool and make-up intact, despite being in full uniform. Incidentally, Malaysia Airlines has won the "World's Best Cabin Staff" award from Skytrax seven of the last 11 years.

Alan Joyce, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, and Bruce Ashby, celebrate after signing the contract

For photos from the gala evening, please visit the Malaysia Airlines Facebook page.

Notable quotes from the three key CEOs.

Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said

"Becoming a member of oneworld is one of the most significant landmarks in Malaysia Airlines' history. It will strengthen our competitive position considerably, enabling us to offer our customers a truly global network together with our partners who include some of the best and biggest airlines in the world. At the same time, it will enable us to benefit from all the financial benefits that come from being part of a global alliance, through additional passenger feed and the learning from best practices that it affords. As an airline that has always be proud to offer the highest quality Malaysian Hospitality, we are very pleased and honoured to be lining up as part of what is clearly the world's top quality airline grouping."

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said

"Qantas has been delighted to support Malaysia Airlines throughout its oneworld joining process, and we are very pleased now to be able to welcome another great airline on board the world's premier global airline alliance."

oneworld Chief Executive Bruce Ashby

"oneworld aims to be the first choice alliance for the world's frequent international travellers - with an unrivalled collection of quality carriers, delivering unmatched benefits to customers and to member airlines alike. That remains our focus today, as the alliance adds another great airline. Malaysia Airlines strengthens the alliance's offering in the growing economic powerhouse of South East Asia, just as we expect oneworld to strengthen Malaysia Airlines' competitive and financial positions."

Double miles offer

To celebrate the addition of the Malaysia Airlines to the alliance oneworld has announced a special double miles offer to cardholders of all oneworld® member airlines' frequent flyer programmes - including those of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich.

Members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty scheme will receive double Enrich award miles when flying between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013 on oneworld partners airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and around 30 of their affiliated airlines on tickets bought from today to 15 April 2013, provided they register first at the Enrich website.

Similarly, the 125 million members of existing oneworld airlines' loyalty programmes will receive double mileage awards when flying on Malaysia Airlines between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013. Each of the member airlines' website has more details.

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Vinay's 2012 in Review : Flying

by Vinay Bhaskara

Here is an overview of my flights taken this year, categorized by airline and route flown. Aircraft types are marked, as are any trips in Premium cabins.

Flights Taken

Southwest Airlines: Newark – Chicago Midway – Newark (Boeing 737-700)

Delta Air Lines: New York La Guardia – Miami – New York La Guardia (McDonnell Douglas MD-88/Airbus A320)

United Airlines: Newark – Washington Dulles – Honolulu (Embraer ERJ 145/ Boeing 767-400ER), Honolulu – San Francisco – Newark (Economy Plus -- Boeing 777-200/767-300), Denver-Newark (Economy Plus -- Boeing 737-900ER), Newark – Orange County (Economy Plus -- Boeing 737-700), Los Angeles – San Francicso (Boeing 757-200), San Francisco – Newark (Economy Plus -- Boeing 757-200), Munich – Newark (BusinessFirst – Boeing 767-400ER)

US Airways: New York La Guardia – Washington Reagan (First Class -- Airbus A319 -- Shuttle Flight), Washington Reagan – Kansas City (First Class – Embraer E170)

Air India: Bangalore – Mumbai (Airbus A320)

Lufthansa: Newark – Frankfurt – Bangalore (Boeing 747-400/747-400), Mumbai – Munich (Business Class – Airbus A330-300)

Stats and Figures

Favorite Premium Cabin flown : Lufthansa on the A330-300.
Favorite Economy Cabin flown: United Boeing 737-700 with DirectTV in Economy Plus (premium economy)
Most Frequent Airport: Newark
Segments Flown: 19
Domestic Segments: 15
International Segments: 4
Miles Flown: 38,947
Average Segment: 2049 miles
Aircraft Types Flown: 14

Short Haul Flight Map

Long Haul Flight Map

My Flying for Next Year

Thus far I have three trips guaranteed to be happening next year, with some more to be determined.

I will be flying to Miami in late January on American Airlines.

I will be flying Philadelphia-Rome, Munich-Zurich, and Zurich - NYC in late March on Star Alliance carriers.

I will be doing a trip to India and Singapore on Star Alliance carriers in July.

I could also be doing a trip to Hyderabad on Star Alliance carriers in February but that is still TBD.

Post how your 2012 flying compares in the comments below!

Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

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Lufthansa opens 'new design concept' lounge at New Delhi IGI airport, first of its kind in Asia

Just six days after making New Delhi as the first Asian destination for the new Boeing 747-8i, German carrier Lufthansa has opened its 'new global design concept' lounge at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the first of its type in Asia.

Lufthansa’s new lounge concept includes enhanced design elements like poster walls and comforting accessories. The walls are designed with wing-view motives to give guests a feeling of sitting inside an aircraft. Specially manufactured designer furniture includes ergonomically designed lounging chairs. The lounge offers the expected amenities of complimentary hot and cold dishes and snacks, a variety of non and alcoholic beverages, workstations and Wi-Fi internet.

The Lufthansa lounge, Delhi, is located in the main atrium of Terminal 3, and spreads across 3,767 square feet (approx. 350 m2) and can seat up to 131 travellers.

This is the second Lufthansa lounge in India. The first lounge was opened, in 2009, at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai.

The Lufthansa Lounge in Delhi is for exclusive use by First and Business class ticket holders of Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, HON, Senator and Frequent Traveller cardholders from the Miles and More frequent flyer programme.

Unlike the Mumbai lounge, the Lufthansa, Delhi lounge is not open to Star Alliance Gold members of other airlines.

Images courtesy and copyright of Lufthansa

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Star Alliance members reject Air India, invite Jet Airways. Air India should choose oneworld

The Star Alliance, a global grouping of 27 airlines, has rejected the application of national carrier Air India to join the group. In over 14 years, and 28 applicants, this is the first time the application of any airline has been rejected.

A source, who wants to remain anonymous, confirmed, the alliance had effectively rejected Air India's application last year itself, but for diplomatic reasons termed the action, at that time, as a "suspension". The mountainous losses of Air India, and its crashing brand value, especially due to the recent pilots' strike, proved to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. At a recent meeting, it is learnt, the majority of members of the alliance voted to reject Air India's application. The ballot is done in extreme secret and even the alliance members do not know of the vote of other members.

This rejection opens the door for India's largest private airline, Jet Airways, who has always eyed joining the alliance. Our co-editor Vinay Bhaskara has done an analysis on what this means for Jet.

As per a report in the Business Standard,

Ajit Singh, Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India, said, “To be part of the Alliance, every member has to agree and that has not happened, especially after the pilots’ strike, when we lost a lot of credibility. They have practically said no, and had sent us a letter last week. We have asked Air India to look for other options and alliances.” Air India will now hold talks with other airline alliances like Sky Team and One World,

Which alliance for Air India?

In our opinion, oneworld will be the next best choice for Air India. The alliance is strongly committed to India, coming agonisingly close to being the first alliance to induct an Indian carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, before the carrier financially imploded. The alliance has also seen the closure of other members, Hungary's Malev and Mexico's Mexicana. So it is hungry for new members. The CEO of oneworld, Bruce Ashby, has strong Indian aviation experience as CEO of LCC IndiGo, and can work the delicate egos of the Indian bureaucracy.

Air India already operates flights to many oneworld hubs, London (British), Chicago and New York (American), Hong Kong (Cathay), Singapore (Cathay and Qantas), and Tokyo (JAL). Soon it will also commence flights to Sydney, hub of Qantas. Conversely, all existing oneworld carriers, save American, Qantas and LAN, operate to either, or both, Air India's hubs in Delhi and Mumbai.

oneworld currently has a weak presence in the Indian and South Asian market, and lacks strong connecting hubs east of Helsinki and west of Singapore. Amman, Jordan is too small, and Colombo, Sri Lanka is too far South.


Along with Air India, oneworld can bridge this gap and gain a commanding presence in the Gulf to South-East Asia geography with the upcoming entries of Malaysia Airlines, and Sri Lankan Airlines.

T3 in Delhi is already a true connecting hub for Air India, has an existing strong portfolio of destinations, not just in India, but across south Asia, and the Gulf. One the integrated terminal 2 is completed in Mumbai, it will only add to the hub strength of Air India.

Adding Air India to the fold would also solve one of oneworld's biggest problems; getting passengers to and from secondary Indian destinations. Air India already operates connecting flights from various cities across India to connect and feed its long distance international flights from Delhi and Mumbai.

Having solved many of its system's problems during the attempted integration with Star, Air India will also be far more ready, and its integration quicker, should oneworld decide to pursue a partnership.

Air India used to provide good inflight service, and with the assistance of oneworld and the backing of respected airlines like British Airways and Cathay Pacific would hopefully allow Air India to re-shape itself as an excellent service provider.

Frequent Flyer Programme

With Jet being invited and a virtual shoo-in to join the Star Alliance, its frequent flyer programme (FFP) JetPrivilege is going to get a massive boost, with members being able to accrue and redeem miles across all the member airlines. Air India's Flying Returns FFP risks being swept away and becoming irrelevant as both passengers and partners seek a broader base.

 oneworld members have been voted as having the best FFPs in the world, American Airlines in the Americas, British Airways in Europe and Africa, and Cathay Pacific in the Asia, Middle East, Oceania geographies respectively. An alliance with oneworld will also provide Air India the similar broad-basing as well as linkages with existing oneworld partners in the non-airline section.

What are your thoughts? Share a comment via our new Disqus 2012 comment system below.

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Jet Airways switches co-branded credit card partner from Citibank to HDFC

JetPrivilege, the frequent flyer programme (FFP) of Jet Airways, has chosen a new partner for its co-branded credit card. HDFC Bank.

Like in its earlier Citibank avatar, the JetPrivilege-HDFC Bank Credit Card will be offered on the MasterCard platform, but this time in three variants, World, Platinum and Titanium, unlike the previous one.

Co-branded credit cards convert loyalty points offered for using the card in to miles in the FFP of the airline. For example, the highest end credit card, the World Card, will entitle cardholders to earn 6 JPMiles for every Rs. 150 spent.

The product sheet detailing benefits is below.

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Analysis: Jet Airways Spinning Off Jet Priviledge

Mumbai based full service carrier Jet Airways recently released its annual report for fiscal year 2011-2012, and amongst the many things discussed was this (not so) little nugget about Jet Airways' frequent flyer program JetPrivilege.

The loyalty industry is evolving in India. Your Company proposes to leverage this evolving business opportunity by setting up a marketing services company engaged in the business of managing reward points and loyalty programs for its program partners. Initially, the marketing services company will be a 100% subsidiary company. As and when negotiations with the potential knowledge partners crystallize into a concrete decision, it is proposed that some percentage of the Company’s stake be offered to the knowledge partners.

Your Company currently runs a frequent flyer programme, the JetPrivilege programme, through which members can earn and redeem JPMiles. The JetPrivilege programme is managed and operated in-house. Your Company proposes to transfer the JetPrivilege programme to the marketing services company and in the process transform the JetPrivilege programme into a larger retail-based coalition loyalty program and through its operations unlock greater commercial value.

Approval of the Shareholders for transfer of the JetPrivilege programme to the subsidiary company will be sought through postal ballot in due course.

Therefore, the Board of Directors, at the Meeting held on 24th May, 2012, granted its unanimous approval for an investment up to 100% in the Share Capital of the proposed maketing services company.

While Jet Airways did not give any timeline for the move, it is still interesting that they would choose to spin off JetPriviledge, especially in light of their comments about increasing ancillary revenue during the first quarter analyst's conference call. Jet Airways is certainly not the first airline to spin off its frequent flyer program and use it for profit generation (known as a profit centre). Air Canada's Aeroplan and American Airlines' AAdvantage are both run separately as profit centres where the airline will sell off its miles to various partners (primarily credit cards), and then allow those partners to use the miles as rewards for their own loyalty programs, then provide award space where those miles can be redeemed for flights. At Western airlines, such profit centre frequent flyer programs have annual turnover of more than $1 billion and profits that run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The move also comes at a time when Jet is almost entirely remaking JetPrivilege. The program already has a ton of airline redemption partners, and the recently announced entrance into Star Alliance (pending government approval) will only make the frequent flyer program more attractive. Jet also recently dropped its 10 year partnership with CitiBank in favor of three different miles-earning credit card partners.

I think that the spin-off is likely to be very beneficial to Jet, as their frequent flyer program is already the most attractive one in India, and the potential addition of the entire Star Alliance global network to the redemption options will make Jet Airways frequent flyer miles a very valuable commodity. At the same time, Jet Airways has to be careful not to overuse the profit centre capability. Have you ever heard the saying, "if everybody's rich, then no one is?" Similarly, if the spin off creates a ton more Jet miles, then the existing miles will be devalued. The prices for award redemption would go up, which could anger and drive away current Jet Airways frequent flyers, who in the end are much more important to the company's prosperity than transitory mileage program partners.

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Analysis: Jet Airways asks for Indian government approval to join Star Alliance

Earlier today, a report from liveMint.com (India’s version of the Wall Street journal), stated that Mumbai based full service carrier Jet Airways has formally asked the Indian government for approval to join the Star Alliance global partnership of carriers.

Readers of Bangalore Aviation will remember that beleaguered national carrier Air India was put on hold indefinitely by Star Alliance in August of last year after a more than 4 years long admission process when Star Alliance claimed that Air India did not meet the minimum standards required for membership. While the fiasco cost Air India *only* Rs. 69 Crore (a veritable drop in the bucket for an airline that loses close to Rs. 20 Crore daily) in Star Alliance entrance fees, as well as the loss of a few minor code share partnerships with non-Star Alliance airlines, the rejection severely wounded the Government of India’s (GOI) pride as Air India became the first airline out of 28 applicants over 14 years to be rejected.  Rumors (unsubstantiated but credible) also emerged from our sources that GOI was particularly incensed by Star Alliance’s insistence on admitting Jet Airways into the alliance simultaneously with Air India.

The rationale for Jet Airways to join Star Alliance is very clear for both parties.

Said Jet Airways senior vice-president, planning and alliance, Raj Sivakumar, in a 16 July letter to aviation secretary Syed Nasim Zaidi:

In order to build the right global partnership and to support our future expansion plans, Jet has been evaluating the potential of joining a global alliance. We are pleased to inform you that we have made the decision to join Star Alliance….We request ministry approval to join Star Alliance. This would allow us to complete the comprehensive integration process as soon as possible in order to be better prepared for our planned international expansion.

Meanwhile, Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab said in a March letter to Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal:

“I am writing following our last week meeting to confirm the interest of our members in naming Jet Airways in Star Alliance. Our members feel that the membership of Jet Airways in Star would be of mutual interest to them and Jet Airways, evidenced by the continuing discussions over several years. We trust that you share the same view…. To move this along, I would invite you to confirm the interest of Jet in joining Star Alliance, which we would take to the chief executive board for final approval and following which, we would establish project teams to manage and drive integration process.”

For Jet Airways, joining Star Alliance would present immediate financial benefits. It would right increase exponentially the value of the JetPriviledge frequent flyer program which has lost some of its luster in the past year, because JetPriviledge members would now be able to earn and redeem miles across Star Alliance’s global network, which encompasses more than 1,356 destinations in 193 countries around the globe. This would instantly make Jet Airways’ frequent flyer program the most attractive one in India for frequent international travelers, which could drive significant increases in JetPriviledge member levels. It would also increase the value of JetPriviledge for existing members, who in addition to the aforementioned international earning and redemption would also get the chance to qualify for Star Alliance Silver or Gold Status, which give frequent flyer access to Star Alliance lounges, free checked bags, and a host of other benefits when flying Star Alliance carriers. 

From a general business strategy sense, Jet has the closest relationships with Star Alliance carriers already, especially with part-Lufthansa owned Brussels Airlines who provides European and a touch of African feed into Jet Airways’ India-North America scissors hub in Brussels. Joining Star Alliance would allow Jet Airways to potentially pursue the trans-Atlantic joint venture strategy we outline in part one of our analysis of Jet Airways’ international operations (part 2 will be out soon). Jet will also get the lion’s share of Star Alliance premium and business travel within India (a source of additional revenue), and will be more easily able to flow its passengers onto the Star Alliance network at international Star Alliance hubs like Frankfurt and Brussels in Europe, Newark and Toronto in North America, and Bangkok and Singapore in Asia.

For Star Alliance, the addition of Jet Airways fills the single biggest “hole” in their global network; India. While Star Alliance does have the best bracketed coverage of India by any of the three major global alliances, by virtue of large Indian operations from Lufthansa, Thai Airways, and Singapore Airlines, India is undoubtedly the most important market in which Star Alliance is lacking. So the single biggest benefit provided by adding Jet Airways to the alliance would be to give the alliance an impenetrable edge in the Indian domestic market and unparalleled access to India. Similar benefits would apply to general Star Alliance frequent flyers that fly to India often, who would get access to more lounges within India as well as better earning and redemption for Indian flight.

While the mutual benefit is patently obvious, the more interesting question is how will the Ministry of Civil Aviation respond? GOI has been known to hold grudges before as any government is wont to when its perceived interests are challenged. Air India is GOI's "baby" for lack of a better word, and when somebody attack's its baby, no mother is eager to provide assistance to the attackers. On the other hand, allowing Jet to enter Star Alliance would be clearly beneficial to many Indian citizens, which is something that GOI is mandated to accomplish. So the essential question is whether the stung pride of GOI and the civil aviation ministry has healed enough to allow Jet's entry. Naresh Goyal is a man with serious clout in the civil aviation ministry and that opposing force will be enough to make the discussion of Jet Airways and Star Alliance compelling theater at the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the coming months

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The downside of complimentary class upgrades of US airlines

Recently, on an on-line forum, there was a great debate on how the legacy domestic carriers could deal with the issue of an empty premium class on many of their flights.

Be it Air India, Jet Airways, or Kingfisher, many a time, fliers will observe just about three or four passengers in the premium class which has 20 or more seats.

One of the forum members suggested these airlines follow a liberal upgrade policy akin to that practised by legacy US carriers like Delta, United, Continental, American, etc., as this would build brand equity.

While both Jet Airways and Kingfisher do offer a limited number of upgrade vouchers for their premium passengers, unlimited upgrading, in my humble opinion, has become a bane for the US airline industry causing a huge blight on their premium class service levels.

Class upgrades do bring brand loyalty. It is but natural for a customer to prefer a provider of freebies; but how long before the benefit becomes an expectation, and then the upgrades actually become a slippery path for the airline and makes it impossible for the carrier to withdraw the service.

Secondly, as the premium classes start getting filled with upgrade passengers, there is a significant decrease in per seat revenue and proportion of income to cost is no longer maintained.

Passengers experience the end result of this flawed policy of US carriers on a daily basis. Thanks to liberal upgrades, resulting in a significantly lower revenue per seat, the carriers in the US have been forced to curtail services in their premium classes.

The so called US domestic "First Class" does not hold a patch to the domestic Business Class in India and most other countries, be it seat comfort, food and beverages, reading materials, or service, both in the air and on the ground. Even on international flights, let's face it, US carriers are not highly rated when it comes to their premium class.

Very frequently, there are hardly any passengers in the premium cabin who have actually paid for a "first class" seat. Due to the enforced lower levels of service, these paying passengers feel denied and short-changed, which further lowers the incentive to actually buy a premium class ticket, which in turn deepens this already vicious downward cycle.

On the other side of the spectrum is Singapore Airlines (SQ), an airline I had the pleasure of being an ultra-frequent flier with. I have often wondered how does Singapore Airlines manage to charge fares that are close to double that of their competitors, including fellow Star Alliance carriers, and still go full, in all classes.

From past experience, the airline is fanatical about protecting and maintaining the levels of their premium classes and does not resort to upgrades unless absolutely forced to, due to extreme overbooking. Despite flying more than a million miles with the airline and being one of their top passengers from India, I got a free upgrade only twice in about 1,000 flights that I have taken with them.

The net result is the airline receives full revenue per seat and in return offers a premium class that offers one of, if not, the best, travel experience in the sky. One that passengers both frequent and otherwise are happy to pay a significant premium for.

This still begs the question, how does Singapore Airline retain the loyalty of its passengers, and the simplest answer is service. The airline perceives itself as a full service carrier and offers exactly that -- full service. Customers get a lot more than they pay for.

What are your views on complimentary upgrades? Are they a boon or a bane? How would you implement a customer loyalty program? Post a comment.

Images courtesy Kingfisher Airlines and Singapore Airlines

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