Being a loyal frequent flier is a little bit like being in a romantic relationship. You understand that under the surface there are a few flaws and you might exchange a few harsh words from time to time, but at the end of the day you’re committed to one another and you remain faithful. That pretty much sums up my relationship with American Airlines (AA) and its oneworld (OW) partners – flawed but faithful.
That is until Monday.
For the first time since I decided to be a loyal frequent flier, I purchased a ticket on a rival alliance. Sure, there have been times when work forced me to fly outside of my preferences, and on occasion I’ve had AA re-route me onto another carrier to get me to my destination in a timely manner. This is the first time that my travel plans were entirely within my control and I chose to fly outside of my alliance. Not only that, but the flight was purchased solely to experience flying with an airline that I have heard good things about yet was unable to fly due to my loyalty.
So why did I fall from grace?
While planning the logistics for a trip I have scheduled into SE Asia on Cathay Pacific, I found myself with a few extra days in Kuala Lumpur that I didn’t know how to handle. I started poking around on Kayak.com to see if there were inexpensive fares to somewhere interesting. Lo and behold – Lufthansa (LH) business class tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok on a 747 for about $260 USD. Um, don’t mind if I do!
LH has always been one of those airlines that has piqued my interest. One of the cornerstones of the massive Star Alliance (*A) network, LH has been the subject of many Flyetalk and MilePoint trip reports lauding its service and hard product. Being a loyal OW flier, I had resigned myself to not being able to experience the likes of Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, ANA, or Swiss. There was admittedly quite a bit of curiosity on my part, but the arms of Cathay Pacific, JAL, and British Airways were enough to keep me more than happy.
This LH business class seat is giving me an opportunity to take a little walk on the other side and see if the grass just might be greener. I’m confident that my loyalty to OW isn’t in danger with this trip, but I’m going to be open-minded and try to enjoy what LH has to offer on this short flight.
The big question now – how do I get back to KUL to catch my flights home? There are quite a few options available to me. The only OW option is a 5th freedom flight on Royal Jordanian that goes directly from BKK to KUL. Another option would be to book with OW member-elect Malaysia Airlines. Or I could continue my *A alliance flirtation and book with Singapore Airlines with a connection, Thai with a direct flight, the reverse Lufthansa flight, or the very unique offering of Egyptair direct. I’ve even considered trying other unique 5th freedom flights from BKK to Hong Kong on unique non-OW airlines like Emirates, Kenya Airways, or Ethiopian and then connecting to KUL. Or I could just hop onto a cheap AirAsia or Jetstar flight and call it a day.
First world problems, but I’m more than happy to be having them!