Alaska provides thrilling new airline companion — Starlux — with unbelievable redemption charges
Editors’ be aware: Starlux offered TPG with a free round-trip business-class ticket for the inaugural U.S. route. All opinions expressed listed here are of the writer alone and weren’t topic to evaluate by Starlux or Alaska.
Alaska Airways’ spectacular portfolio of airline companions is rising with the addition of a brand new Taiwan-based service.
As of Wednesday, April 26, Starlux Airways is Alaska’s latest companion, bringing thrilling new advantages to Mileage Plan frequent flyers.
If you happen to’re not acquainted, Starlux is a Taipei-based luxurious airline startup that started operations in January 2020 with a handful of intra-Asia routes. The pandemic paused the service’s development ambitions, however Starlux is now again in enlargement mode, with its inaugural U.S. flight touchdown in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
To coincide with the launch, Alaska and Starlux are asserting their partnership, which can primarily embody loyalty advantages.
For one, as of April 26, now you can credit score any Starlux flight to your Alaska Mileage Plan account. You may accrue miles in response to the fare class bought and distance flown, as seen within the desk under.
| Cabin | Fare class | Base miles | Bonus miles | Whole miles earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top notch | F, A | 100% | 250% | 350% |
| Enterprise class | J, C, D | 100% | 150% | 250% |
| Premium financial system | W, R, E | 100% | 25% | 125% |
| Economic system | Y, B, H, Ok, M, L, V, S, N | 100% | 0% | 100% |
You may need to test your ticket to see which fare class you bought to calculate your earnings. Alternatively, you may theoretically credit score your Starlux flight to the airline’s COSMILE loyalty program, however rare U.S.-based vacationers will possible be higher off accruing Alaska miles.
Moreover, beginning later this summer time, you can redeem Mileage Plan miles for journey on Starlux. Whereas Alaska just lately moved away from fixed-rate redemptions, the service is teasing some profitable introductory one-way “beginning at” award charges, as you’ll be able to see under.
- Economic system: 20,000 miles.
- Premium financial system: 40,000 miles.
- Enterprise class: 60,000 miles.
You won’t be able to redeem miles for Starlux first-class.
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It wasn’t instantly clear if Alaska’s web site will show Starlux award availability, neither is it clear which fare buckets award tickets will ebook into.
That stated, the introductory award charges are extremely profitable, particularly in comparison with the money fares that Starlux is charging for its business-class cabin. I would advocate redeeming 120,000 Alaska miles, value $2,160 in response to TPG valuations, versus paying round $5,500 for a round-trip business-class ticket.
In fact, the satan is within the particulars, and with Alaska’s new dynamic “beginning at” pricing mannequin, you will need to crunch the numbers earlier than making a redemption.
Whereas Starlux is probably not a family title, particularly for U.S.-based vacationers, the Alaska partnership ought to definitely assist generate some buzz across the airline and its new path to L.A.
“Our friends will love flying on Starlux, connecting the West Coast, Taipei and plenty of extra unbelievable locations in Asia. We’re thrilled to supply our loyal Mileage Plan members one other thrilling strategy to see the world,” Nat Pieper, senior vp of fleet, finance and alliances at Alaska Airways, stated in an announcement.
It is fascinating that the preliminary partnership is proscribed to loyalty, as Alaska and Starlux is not going to offer codeshares to reinforce connectivity on either side of the Pacific. Maybe that degree of cooperation may very well be coming in a future replace to the partnership.
Moreover, a current rumor has been swirling that Starlux could be attempting to hitch the Oneworld airline alliance. Partnering with Alaska, itself a newly minted member of Oneworld, may definitely assist a doable bid by Starlux, however Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is a founding Oneworld member, which comes with veto energy.
It is exhausting to think about Cathay letting a close-by competitor be part of Oneworld, although maybe the brand new Oneworld Join mannequin could be a greater match for Starlux and a extra palatable choice for Cathay.
Both method, some degree of cooperation is definitely higher than nothing, and with engaging intro redemption charges, this partnership is off to a fantastic begin.
TPG will probably be on Starlux’s inaugural flight from Los Angeles to Taipei, and we’ll have a full recap of the expertise, together with a deep-dive on the brand new seat, publishing within the coming days. Keep tuned!
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