Which airline alliance offers the best deal for you?

With more and more airlines becoming alliance members, the benefits of playing the loyalty game are becoming better by the day. Dominic Lalk provides a guide

Finding the right frequent flyer programme is not always an easy feat. The decision will often largely depend on which airline, or alliance, dominates your nearest airport and which destinations you fly to most often – although, for business travellers, specially negotiated corporate discounts can sometimes limit one’s options.

Given the choice, loyalty to one or two carriers eventually pays off in the form of building up your tier status, through which you can benefit from premium services on your chosen airline and, perhaps more important, across its extended alliance network.

Long gone are the days when your hard-earned miles only took you from A to B, and only on the airline with which you accrued your miles. As a member of, say, British Airways’ Executive Club, you can connect to the extensive US network of American Airlines, explore Central and South America with Iberia, LAN or TAM, travel throughout Asia with Cathay Pacific, JAL, Malaysia Airlines or Sri Lankan, link on to the fast-growing network of Qatar Airways out of Doha, or hit the Kangaroo route with Qantas – all fellow Oneworld members.

Determining what an alliance can do for you, given your travel patterns, is crucial in making a choice. The experience at the airport, your ability to upgrade or build your airline elite status, the ease with which you can earn or burn miles, and the price you pay for your tickets are all important considerations when finding the airline and alliance partner that works best for you. To help you in your decision-making, here is the lowdown on Oneworld, Skyteam and Star Alliance.

ONEWORLD

Launched in 1999 by founding members American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, Oneworld remains the smallest of the alliances in terms of the number of airlines. As of September 2014, Oneworld has 16 members that operate some 14,000 daily flights to more than 1,000 destinations.

Oneworld has recently experienced expansion, especially in Asia-Pacific. Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways joined last year, while 2014 has seen the inclusion of TAM, US Airways and Sri Lankan Airlines. Securing Qatar Airways – the first of the three big Gulf carriers to join an alliance – was a boon for Oneworld, since both Etihad and Emirates have consistently denied interest in joining an alliance.

When Sri Lankan joined in May, it became the first carrier in the Indian subcontinent to join an alliance. Politics, labour disputes and rising fuel costs have long stifled the competitiveness of South Asia’s aviation sector, creating a void on the world map for alliances, but things seem to be improving – in July, Air India joined Star Alliance.

Oneworld is the only alliance that offers three status tiers. Whereas the lowest – Ruby – offers little alliance-wide recognition other than waitlist priority and business class check-in, Sapphire and Emerald grant access to more than 600 business and first class lounges worldwide. As Oneworld’s big airlines are based in iconic cities such as London, Hong Kong, New York, Sydney and Tokyo, you can enjoy some of the world’s finest lounges while you travel, such as Cathay Pacific’s facilities at Hong Kong International and British Airways’ Galleries at Heathrow Terminal 5.

To reach Sapphire status, BA’s Executive Club requires you to accrue 600 tier points (roughly equivalent to two return London-Hong Kong business class flights), upon which you will receive 100 per cent extra award miles on every British Airways, American Airlines, Iberia or JAL flight.

Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club requires you to accrue 300 Qpoints (roughly the equivalent of two business class longhaul return flights) and in return you receive 75 per cent extra award miles every time you use Qatar Airways.