Choosing an Airline Alliance Member

Last November I flew return from London to Melbourne on Thai Airways, thus accruing a fair amount of miles. I belong to the Varig air miles programme, although I have no miles accumulated with them at present. My question regards whether to register my ticket stubs with the Varig programme (even though the airline's future doesn't look too bright) because I occasionally travel to Brazil, or to sign up with Thai and start their programme. I can't see myself flying on Thai any time soon. Is there any advantage to joining one Star Alliance member instead of another?

Thanks in advance for your help.

David Warwick

Hi David,

I am going to take a leap and presuppose that you are from the U.K. or Australia due to your usage of programme. With this in mind, British Midland Airways would be a good airline to start building your relationship with if you’re in the U.K. or Air New Zealand if you’re based in Australia.

This would allow you to establish a history with one primary carrier that is convenient to your home base. In addition, both of these airlines are fairly strong and will help you leverage your loyalty with the other Star Alliance partners.

All the best.