Airline Alliances Cooperative competition. Competitive cooperation. Confused? Airline alliances have travelers scratching their heads over whats going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travelers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big businesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whatever your opinion is, there are no escaping airline alliances: the marketing hype is unrelenting, with each of the two mega-groupings. Oneworld and Star Alliance promote themselves as the best choice for all travelers. And, even if you turn away from their ads, chances are they will figure in any of your travel plans. But why, after years of often ferocious competition, have airlines decided to band together? Lets just say the timing is mutually convenient. North American Airlines, having exhausted all means of earning customer loyalty at home, have been looking for ways to reach out to foreign flyers. Asian carriers are still hurting from the region—the wide economic downturn that began two years ago just when some of the airlines were taking delivery of new aircraft. Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by pooling manpower resources on the ground (rather than each airline maintaining its own ground crew) and code-sharing—the practice of two partners selling tickets and operating only one aircraft. So alliances are terrific for airlines—but are they good for the passenger? Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP (frequent flyer programme) benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then there is the promise of 'seamless' travel: the ability to, say, travel from Singapore to Rome to New York to Rio de Janeiro, all on one ticket, without having to wait hours for connections or worry about your bags. Sounds Utopian? Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacifics Director of Sales and Marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. 'The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. We are working on this.' Henry Ma, spokesperson for Star Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for customers: 'Global travelers have an easier time making connections and planning their itineraries.' Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistent service standards. Critics of alliances say the much touted benefits to the customer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and running joint marketing programmes. Consumer Reports Senior Editor Jeff Blyskal says the promotional ballyhoo over alliances is much ado about nothing. 'I dont see much of a gain for consumers: alliances are just a marketing gimmick. Most airlines can not even get their own connections under control, let alone coordinate with another airline. ' Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets. The truth about alliances and their merits probably lies somewhere between the travel Utopia presented by the players, and the evil empires portrayed by their critics. And how much they affect you depends on what kind of traveler you are. Those whove already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airline stand to benefit the most when it joints an alliance: then they enjoy the FFP perks and advantages on any and all of the member carriers. For example, if you are a Marco Polo Club 'gold' member of Cathay Pacifics Asia Miles FFP, you will automatically be treated as a valuable customer by all members of Oneworld, of which Cathay Pacific is a member. For those who havent made the top grade in any FFP, alliances might be a way of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. For example, I belong to United Airlines Mileage Plus and generally fly less than 25000 miles a year. But I earn miles with every flight I take on Star Alliance member—All Nippon Airways and Thai Airways. (A)if you fly less than I do, you might be smarter to stay out of the FFP game altogether. (B)The only real benefit infrequent flyers can draw from an alliance is an inexpensive round-the-world fare. (C)The bottom lines for all the marketing hype, alliances arent all things to all people—but everybody can get some benefit out of them. (D) According to the passage, which is the best word to describe air travelers reaction to airline alliances?