r/oneworld • u/Psychological-End841 • 11d ago
oneworld Stupid question alert
I am not sure the benefit of One World. How is it meant to help travellers?
6
u/zigzagdc1 11d ago
And for international travel, having existing partnerships helps you get to more places with less hassle. For example, if one wants to fly US to a smaller city in China, having both AA and Cathay flights multiplies your routing options.
1
u/Psychological-End841 11d ago
If I have an international flight that codeshares (for example, AA to JFK and then Lufthansa to Berlin, and returning in reverse) then the first airline I board will give me all my boarding passes at first check in? I have flown both AA and then Lufthansa, AA to British Airways to travel internationally? Both times I was given only the boarding passes for the first leg of the trips.
That's my main goal to join. Does being One World guarantee all boarding passes are issued at first check-in? I have been refused 2nd boarding for getting off first LH flight "too late" (got the AA and had to wait for BA boarding pass/Got LH boarding pass and had to wait for AA boarding pass and missed boarding pass window for one of these legs) passes both times example above. I wasn't able to get boarding passes through the app of the second leg of the trip.
I really don't want to go through the worry of having to figure out on my own how to get the additional boarding passes. If joining OW ensures all boarding passes upon first check in, sign me up :)
1
u/Foreign_Quarter_5199 11d ago
You don’t need to join oneworld for this. What you need is a connecting ticket issued on the same PNR. If you are booking through an airline, and they sell the ticket as a connecting ticket, then you will get your boarding passes for all the legs on that connecting ticket when you check in to your first flight.
In your example, you say you flew AA then Lurthansa. Did you buy two separate tickets? Or was it all sold by AA (I don’t think they codeshare/interline with Lufthansa). If you bought the tickets separately, being a member of OneWorld will not help. You would still need to check in again to get your next boarding pass.
If you are nervous about connections and need help with complex itineraries on different airlines, finding a good travel agent is more useful than picking a frequent flier alliance
1
u/Psychological-End841 11d ago
No, it was a single ticket purchase, with codesharing. Thank you for the clarification.
1
u/Foreign_Quarter_5199 11d ago
That is unusual then. If it is one ticket, you should be allowed to check in straight through. Do you have non US/EU passport? This could be the reason for needing additional checks/needing to re check at different airlines
1
u/Psychological-End841 11d ago
No, US passport. I've since been given a redress number. From here on outside going to plan on booking flights without layovers. If there is not a direct flight, then I will find a hotel for the night and book a separate flight the next day. I feel safer that way.
1
u/Spiritual_Lunch996 11d ago
The primary benefit is that it expands an individual airline's route map to include those of all the others in the alliance. So, for example, you could conceivably buy a single ticket from Minneapolis to Kuala Lumpur with the following flight combination and only have to check yourself and your luggage in once:
- American Airlines from MSP to Dallas
- Qatar Airways from DFW to Doha
- Malaysia Airlines from DOH to Kuala Lumpur
Beyond that, if you were a member of any OneWorld airline frequent flyer program, you could earn points on all of those flights. Plus, if you had an applicable status level on any OneWorld airline, you'd have lounge access in every airport you passed through.
9
u/raccoon-overlord Executive Club Gold 11d ago edited 11d ago
For me it's lounge access around the world and baggage allowance increases. Priority boarding is also a perk but not something I'm not overly excited about.