When one sits down to thoroughly deconstruct the international Indian traveller, what seems to be gradually emerging over the last few years is just how discerning they are becoming. We all know much Indians are travelling for business and pleasure. Earlier it was rare that Indians returned to places that they had already been to. But now they unflinchingly do. Some countries that were simply not on the business radar before, some others still reeling from the early days of independence (read: Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, etc) are now part of well publicised business travel itineraries. Gone are those days when only the US, UK or South East Asia held sway. While they undoubtedly continue to retain their popularity, quite simply were there just way too many places that Indians hadn’t seen yet? Possibly yes.
Now, there really is no downside to taking an international holiday – except for maybe a little hole in your pocket and some jet lag. Or for that matter taking in a bleisure break in the truest sense of the term.
A SENSE OF COMMUNITY WHILE FLYING?
As unusual and out of the world as this may seem, but for me the most important component of any international vacation revolves around ensuring that I fly the right airline and occasionally. If possible, the most premium one as well at least on long haul. Going a step further I almost always try and ensure that it belongs to the same network of airlines. Arduous and challenging. Not really!! And certainly not given the grab bag of all those wondrous options be it from Star Alliance, oneworld or SkyTeam, a prompt reminder that even in this global age of a slightly homogenising world, one can yet hope to imbue that simple sense of wonder.
Yes I have had to literally tear my hair out to go over the long but rather impressive list of airlines from Star Alliance (being a long time Miles & More member) but hey what a discovery and revelation it has been until now!
But first, does being part of a coveted and exclusive club of flyers really matter. Yes it does! The time and effort that I put into researching an airline (yes you read that correctly!) in addition to researching the destination would surprise those who like to believe that once you book your air ticket the job’s done. In fact I read everything that I can get my hands on and have never come across an airline review site that I didn’t like.
Well here then is an incisive diagnosis (if I can call it that) of the three large airline alliances
STAR’S CLEARLY THE WAY TO GO
Star Alliance, is regarded and respected widely as the big daddy of all airline alliances and justifiably so. It’s motto reads — The way the Earth connects — which seems a bit far-fetched however, the list of countries and destinations it flies to, is certainly impressive. It obviously helps that a majority of these cover the European continent very well (Do the math and 11 out of the 28 airlines are quality European carriers with seamless one-stop connections) vis-a-vis oneworld’s five only (counting Qatar Airways as well and considering the shutdown of Air Berlin, that was a major setback) or SkyTeam’s 8 in all (including Saudi Airlines for whatever it is worth).
Result – with Star, I can easily merge two or sometimes even more destinations into a single more comprehensive itinerary creating a richer and more embellished travel experience. It has always always been smooth sailing with Star, for example during my visit to Greece and Turkey, I effortlessly combined Turkish with Aegean or when I travelled more than once to East Europe, I have always combined two sometimes even three airlines while making those quick pit stops. Or for that matter take the example of SAS, an airline that flies to multiple cities across five Scandinavian countries, something that oneworld or a SkyTeam just don’t seem to get right at all. In fact the Star network seems to be like a well-oiled machinery with a central hub at Frankfurt airport to monitor daily flights and co-ordinate other activities including co-locations at airports, infrastructure, communication initiatives and other services to significantly improve one’s experience.
Little wonder, then, that Lufthansa (its founding member) and Frankfurt airport share an almost symbiotic relationship and while benefits such as priority check-in and boarding, additional baggage allowance, and entry to airport lounges is offered by all three it is the baggage handling with oneworld (mainly led by British Airways – its founding member) that is still a cause for worry. It also helps that Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich airports are better off than their Western European counterparts especially Charles de Gaulle at Paris which is not that great to transit through anyway except for maybe Schiphol airport that consistently continues to set new standards. I must admit that a solitary Finnair, Iberia (both oneworld members) do afford me the advantage of travelling within their respective countries seamlessly (Finland as I recently discovered where Finnair dominated the airline landscape and taking a train internally meant travelling ultra-long distances) and Spain where you could easily alternate your choice of travel between two destinations using both Eurail and Iberia. I for one preferred the low budget Vueling (Excellent connections across southern Europe).
ONEWORLD & SKYTEAM – A MIXED BAG
Next up – Asia & the Pacific. While Star Alliance undoubtedly scores here with major airline brands such as Singapore Airlines (consistently ranked on top), Thai, ANA (most under-rated carrier for its direct and seamless connections to Tokyo and beyond in East Asia) and Air New Zealand, in its kitty, its prowess is only matched by that of a Cathay Pacific (excellent with exemplary service and a loyal set of followers) and Malaysia Airlines (still reeling from the memory of the ill-fated accidents that have plagued the carrier) both part of One World. And while Qantas (oneworld) undoubtedly continues to dominate the Australian skies, there is always Jet Star to look to as a viable alternative. Meanwhile the only redeeming factor for SkyTeam is China Airlines with its multiple partners – China Eastern that makes domestic flights within China both pocket friendly and super-efficient vis-à-vis the steeply priced Air China (Star Alliance) and of course Korean which is used primarily to carry traffic to the US West Coast. Now who for that matter wouldn’t want a long layover at Incheon Airport! Or even Changi.
Meanwhile Star completely dominates proceedings in Africa both north and south with three of the biggest carriers covering pretty much the length and breadth of the continent. Save for Qatar Airways that does not offer the scale of connections as a Star carrier, oneworld has very little to offer, while SkyTeam relies largely on a sole Kenya Airways (prohibitively expensive) by any standards to represent Africa. Additionally, Ethiopian (Star Alliance) is now favoured by most business travellers from India while connecting to South America (dealt with in detail in the next para) with good value for money and timely one-stop flights from its hub in Addis Ababa. This distinction earlier belonged to South African Airways until it stopped flying to India completely
That leaves us with the Americas and clearly while all the alliances score the same with one major American carrier leading the grouping (except that United along with Air India & Air Canada all aligned with Star offer a distinct edge with direct flights to Newark and Toronto respectively which is unfortunately not the case with both oneworld and SkyTeam) it is the connections to Central & Latin America that helps one understand how far one can reach. While COPA (Star Alliance) makes it an undisputed leader in Central America, the combination of LATAM (coming from oneworld) is definitely hard to resist for anyone travelling within South America. Though Avianca and now Avianca Brazil (Star Alliance) with its gradual expansion, smart marketing moves, and eclectic & all-encompassing coverage of some far-flung gems on the other side of the world have begun to more than make up for LAN and TAM. Here, SkyTeam is found sorely wanting with only regional partners with their origins in Mexico and Argentina. In Latin territory which is a mix of the unfamiliar and the predictable, SkyTeam has a long way to go. I must make a confession here though. When I visited Peru, I had very grudgingly opted for Air France with its easy one stop connection to Lima. Never mind the average quality of meals or the few in-flight entertainment options on offer. Incidentally for Indian travelers Air France and KLM (both SkyTeam) are the fastest way to get to Inca territory. Star are you listening??
NON-ALLIANCE CARRIERS – HOW DO THEY STACK UP
So where does that leave the extraordinary league of those who have resisted joining any network. Well except for big guns such as Jet Airways, Emirates and Etihad that take things a notch higher on quite a few parameters, the others don’t really matter in the overall scheme of things do they? Moreover not being part of an alliance for Emirates (frankly they never will and they never should for obvious reasons) is a bit of a distinct downer while connecting to smaller regional European hubs where the connections with completely unrelated local carriers seem a little out of place at times. Then again one struggles to get to destinations such as Reykjavik in Iceland (getting popular with Indians) if flying Emirates vis-à-vis Lufthansa that offers an easy one stop flight via Frankfurt.
Ameya Bundellu
