Friends,

Just after 5pm local time today, Cathay Pacific’s inaugural flight from Hong Kong touched down at DFW. Later tonight, that same A350 will take off again for the long overnight back to Chek Lap Kok Airport.

Global aviation is a magnificent thing.

Anyway—yesterday I wrote about OneWorld Emerald status and why I am so keen on keeping it. Tonight I want to try to break that down a bit further. At a basic level, there are three major airline alliances in the world today:

1. OneWorld

2. Star Alliance

3. SkyTeam

They each represent a collection of carriers that partner commercially and provide reciprocal benefits for their respective frequent fliers. OneWorld’s frequent flier recognition is the strongest, followed closely by Star and then SkyTeam takes a somewhat more distant (but improving) third place.

The way this theoretically works is simple: if you hold a frequent flier tier with a member airline, said tier is supposed to convey specific benefits on partner carriers. The depth and breadth of those shared benefits varies wildly.

OneWorld’s Emerald status is kind of the “one ring to rule them all” of airline alliance statuses—and is conveyed by reaching the top tier of a OneWorld carriers’ loyalty program. It allows first class check-in and lounge access across the alliance (no matter your ticketed cabin) plus complimentary preferred seating, excess baggage, and a generally higher level of care while traveling.

When you can hit it strategically with some well selected flights — Emerald is worth its weight in gold.

To be sure: each alliance’s respective tier has great benefits, and who you fly largely comes down to where you live. For those of us who live in Dallas, OneWorld (via American) rules the day—though to be sure both Star Alliance (United) and SkyTeam (Delta) have a DFW presence, too.

The game is earning status and making it work for you on multiple airlines without spending £20,000 a year on airline tickets. So more to come on that topic — soon.

Fly well.

Links

Cathay Pacific lands in Texas: this is a fun read.

United tightens up access to their Clubs, which feels relatively reasonable to me.

Pakistan closes their airspace to Indian carriers.

American loses money in Q1 and their flight attendant union throws shade.

United’s CEO gets political.

Remember, this life you are living has meaning. Thank you for reading. I am grateful you are here and would love to hear from you. If you'd like to write me a note, simply reply to this email. Otherwise I'll see you in the next one.

P.S. If I can ever help you plan your next travel adventure (slash help make your points go farther), I’d be delighted. You can schedule time together here.