Solblanc wrote
ewh1 wrote
Arianespace wrote
Not weird at all. Sponsor is not also the problem. The market and infrastructure is.
Like what I said alliance membership has certain associated expense, ie implementation and integration cost, and high standards (putting 10ab seats on 35k is not one of them duh) which is rather expensive for the airline to maintain. The basic example of that is revenue splitting from passenger when clearly 98% of their market are Filipinos. Alliance has tremendous benefit if you have plenty of connecting passengers. PAL had few because of inadequate airport infrastructure. SJX and all other alliance members has plenty. Its just basic math.
I sorta get the logic, but I also don't since, since these airlines aren't necessarily airlines I would associate as being of higher caliber, product and infrastructure wise (not just the airport but overall) than an airline like PAL.
Star Alliance:Avianca
Ethiopian
EgyptAir
Croatian Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines
Copa Airlines
Oneworld:Oman Air
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Jordanian
Sri Lankan Airlines
Skyteam:Aerolineas Argentinas
Aeromexico
Air Europa
Kenya Airways
Middle East Airlines
TAROM
It seems more plausible that the airport infrastructure is the sore spot and its just safer to focus on the O&D market since theres still lots of untapped demand, while also forming independent partnerships (which are all heavily Oneworld focused, i might add). I think they know its not worth splitting their revenue until they have a proper hub to support additional connecting traffic.
I really wouldn't be surprised that they start thinking about alliances again when they make a proper move to T3 and can support additional capacity and a higher calibre experience.
Ethiopian is a good airline. Addis Airport in its current state is actually nicer than NAIA. Plus their lounge has people serving traditional Ethiopian coffee. Nice touch.
Oman air is also a very good airline with an underrated hub, and they are the most likely of the gulf carriers to recover as Muscat airport is not as affected as DXB/DOH
Sri Lankan is also a good airline that punches above its weight. It sometimes is affected by political interference, but otherwise, Richard did a good job of steering it. And he’s heading PAL now.
Once PAL is in T3 with other FSCs, Manila becomes a proper regional connector. PAL has excellent timings and frequencies to BKK, SIN, HKG, and NRT. They also have destinations that aren’t well-served globally like POM, ROR, and SPN. When Papua New Guinea hosted APEC, most of the delegates flew PAL.
PAL has plenty to offer an alliance. We’re just so used to flying five-star carriers that we sometimes forget that the market is big and growing. And these day, while the Gulf carriers are hobbled by world events, there are even more opportunities.
Yeah, I wanted to add, I don't think those are bad airlines by any means. Just meant that many of those airlines I listed aren't necessarily perfect in each category and aren't perceived as such. Even the big or prestigious airlines that I didn't mention also have issues. Consistency, I think, really determines the perception of airlines that are great, bad, or just middle of the road. That and, of course, brand perception and marketing.
Ethiopian is going to be interesting once their new airport opens in a few years. With all the conflict going on, will it become a bigger alternative to the M3 hubs? I've watched and read a few things that say it's a possibility. They are a big transit connector, but the in-flight product could be better. Definitely have been tempted to do a stopover at Addis Ababa a few times though and experience them.
Sri Lankan, I hear mixed things. They're good when they're good, but also seen a lot of deterioration in the past few years after the Emirates management agreement ceased, and then the fuel crisis in Sri Lanka affected their operations. But yes, Richard had a lot on his hands, especially literally shipping fuel to Sri Lanka just so they can keep flying!
Oman Air, is maybe more underrated than anything. I've had friends say they are good.
I guess my point is that many of the airlines that are in alliances aren't necessarily perfect or perceived as "the best" and have similar flaws to PAL. In the past few years, PAL has improved a lot and yes, despite their flaws, they have lots to add to an alliance and will stand to benefit by diversifying their market so to not be so dependent on VFR/O&D traffic, especially with a competitive and volatile market thats ahead of us
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