Alaska
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Opens Online Booking Capability For Cathay Pacific Flights In October
Lastly – after a number of years – Alaska Airways Mileage Plan has introduced that they’re going to make Cathay Pacific flights out there for on-line bookings someday this month (October 2022).
To date, members all the time needed to name and request an availability verify for Cathay Pacific flights which could or won’t have matched that of different Oneworld carriers award packages.
LATAM awards will even be out there earlier than the tip of the yr via the web search and redemption interface.
Reserving Cathay Pacific flights with Alaska Mileage Plan miles has all the time been thought of type of a candy spot redemption along with Japan Airways, notably in First Class, and contemplating that ASMP is one the only a few remaining carriers that enable a stopover on awards, even one-way.
With the latest promotional electronic mail that Alaska despatched out, they included a footnote that adjustments can be coming to the redemptions of Cathay Pacific awards:
The information a few “simplified” award chart doesn’t bode nicely for this system, as often when an airline desires to “simplify” one thing, it implies that issues are about to get decimated and sure candy spot awards would possibly definitely be in line for a rise in value or a unfavorable change of ticketing guidelines.
Alaska Airways redemption web site now has the next discover:
Replace on associate awards
Excellent news for 2022! Cathay Pacific awards can be out there to ebook on alaskaair.com in October and LATAM awards can be out there earlier than the tip of 2022.
Beginning late December, the best way you view award charts on-line is altering. We’ll have a simplified award chart to point out you the place award ranges begin based mostly on which areas you’re touring from and to. With this variation, much like awards on Alaska, associate award ranges might range relying on a number of elements together with route, distance, or demand. You’ll proceed to have the ability to take pleasure in nice worth to your miles. As all the time, the easiest way to view pricing and availability for the routes you’re keen on flying is to seek for your particular journey dates and locations.
Proper now, the required mileage for awards is flat and really affordable. I can’t see an upside to altering (simplifying, as they put it) the award chart system in a method that might really profit the client.
Making award charts versatile pricing topic to demand and peak durations isn’t a very good factor. Within the majority of instances, pricing would go up and it’s actually harder to plan forward what number of miles it is advisable to financial institution earlier than with the ability to redeem in your required cabin.
Simply final yr, Mileage Plan lastly added Qatar Airways to their record of airways for which you’ll redeem on-line with out the assistance of an agent:
Alaska Airways Mileage Plan Has Lastly Added Qatar Airways As Redemption Associate – With A Catch!
It’s unclear whether or not they’ll lastly enable to combine and match all airways on awards or to permit redemptions for all airways on all routes. Presently, there may be nonetheless an annoying restriction for a lot of companions which you can’t redeem on all routes.
For instance, I can’t redeem Japan Airways to fly to Europe (from Japan) however I can use it to ebook a flight to North America. It doesn’t make any sense and Alaska ought to cease this insanity.
Conclusion:
Alaska Airways Mileage Plan is making some extra modifications and additions to their awards redemption construction and this can embody Cathay Pacific in addition to LATAM to be out there for on-line bookings. Cathay Pacific needs to be added to the web site this month (October) and LATAM till the tip of the yr.
Hopefully Mileage Plan will get their stuff collectively very quickly and at last rolls out correct oneWorld awards that enables redemptions on all routes with all companions – worldwide.
I discover it outrageous that they have been allowed to be a full alliance member with out having even probably the most fundamental infrastructure in place that’s customary with all oneWorld carriers. Mileage Plan has been horrible with associate flights, particularly their bizarre routing restrictions.