I previously wrote about how Alaska Airlines will join the oneworld alliance before the end of 2020, though that’s not the only exciting change coming to oneworld, at least on paper.
Oneworld will present updates of the entire alliance
Cranky Flier spoke to oneworld executives prior to the Alaska Airlines announcement, and there was one particularly interesting detail. The oneworld alliance plans to introduce updates as a benefit of the alliance in the coming months., about the same time that Alaska Airlines joins the alliance.
It seems like it wasn’t even intended to be an official announcement at the moment, as executives were unwilling to share more details on what we should expect.
The concept of updates to the entire alliance sounds exciting, although personally I think this is highly unlikely to have much appeal.
Oneworld alliance plans to present upgrade awards
How might oneworld alliance updates work?
If you expect this to mean that American AAdvantage Executive Platinum members will get free updates on all Cathay Pacific and Qantas flights, you’re likely to be disappointed.
Star Alliance has offered an alliance upgrade concept for many years, so generally I think we should look at that show to get an idea of what we could expect from oneworld. On the positive side, Star Alliance allows you to upgrade with any alliance miles currency on any alliance airline. However:
- Updates are only allowed from the highest fare classes (economy including “Y” and “B”, and business class including “C” and “D”), and some fare classes are permitted on some airlines additional)
- Upgrade inventory is typically identical to award inventory at the savings level, so it is not always available
- Each Star Alliance upgrade award is valid in a single segment
- The actual number of miles required to upgrade is not as high, and there are no copays; As an example, you can see the Aeroplan Star Alliance update chart here
Just to give a quick example, a round-trip itinerary from New York to Frankfurt by Lufthansa in economy fare class “B” costs ~ $ 3,470.
Meanwhile, a discounted business class ticket costs less than $ 100 more.
This is for demonstration purposes only, although it is true that there are slightly more nuances (there are some other classes of eligible fares on some airlines, this does not take into account the flexibility of the tickets, does not take into account the premium economy tickets, etc. ..).
However, in general, the only circumstance under which I have found the alliance upgrade concept worthwhile is if you are a business traveler who contractually has to book a full economy rate or a full rate business class, and you want to update.
In virtually all other cases, I’ve found that it’s often best to redeem miles for an award ticket in the cabin you want to fly (even if you need to buy miles directly from a frequent flyer program), since the inventory from which those tickets come is the same.
In some cases, you can even book a cheaper paid ticket in the cabin you want to upgrade to, instead of booking a full-fare ticket one cabin down.
787 Qantas business class
Bottom line
The oneworld alliance is expected to present reciprocal updates by the end of 2020.
However, don’t get too excited. This does not mean that the upgrade privileges you get at “your” airline will be extended to other airlines. Rather this is likely to work similarly to the Star Alliance upgrade program, which requires you to book a full fare ticket, and also requires award availability for your flight.
Is there anyone more optimistic about the potential value proposition of the oneworld upgrade program than me?
