Eight Low-Cost Asian Carriers Join Forces to Create New Value Alliance
Airline alliances can make travel easier and more convenient. And while you've probably heard of the big ones — Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance — there are smaller partnerships that can really be used to your advantage to make travel more seamless and affordable. The latest addition to the list of airline alliances across the world is a combination of eight low-cost Asian carriers, called Value Alliance.
Value Alliance is now the world's biggest group of budget airlines and includes Scoot and Tigerair (subsidiaries of Singapore Airlines), Tigerair Australia, Cebu Pacific (and its subsidiary Cebgo; Philippines), Jeju Air (South Korea), Vanilla Air (owned by ANA; Japan) and Nok Air and NokScoot (Thailand). Much like the other alliances, travelers will now be able to search for and book flights on each of the eight carriers via one member's website.
Together, the eight airlines operate routes to more than 160 destinations across the region on 176 aircraft — last year, the eight carriers transported more than 47 million people. With this new alliance, travelers will also be able to create a single itinerary and confirm their seats, meals and baggage allowances. However, there are still some kinks to work out — for example, passengers may need to collect and re-check their bags when connecting from one member to another. There aren't many details regarding future plans for the alliance, either, such as whether it will offer any perks a traditional alliance offers, such as a rewards program.
It's worth noting that the alliance excludes two of the region's largest low-cost carriers — AirAsia and Jetstar. Still, with the addition of Value Alliance, travelers going to or through Asia now have the opportunity for easier, more seamless travel. Of course, if you're planning on trying out the new alliance, keep in mind that these are low-cost carriers and although the fares may seem low, you'll likely be making up the difference in added fees.
H/T: The Straits Times