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In comments to the earlier post on United’s new rules limiting access to Economy Plus seating, Cole writes:

It would be great if the Star Alliance could take a break from expansion long enough to improve its cross-airline benefits. SkyTeam has recently (or, recently to me, anyway) made some major steps in that area: cross-airline club access is much smoother than it once was and accessing a partner club does not require a ticket on that partner airline, and all SkyTeam elites get access to preferred seating at the front of the plane (no more legroom, but faster getting off) and in exit rows on every Sky airline. It’s only a shame they don’t really have any airlines worth getting excited about.

Hear, hear.

(Except for the fact that Star Alliance does need to find itself some coverage in South America, now that Varig has become a shadow of its former self.)

I have a number of quibbles with airline alliances. While they offer convenience and single-ticket travel across a range of airlines, they aren’t yet a perfectly well-oiled machine, from the consumer’s point of view.

- As Cole says, benefits aren’t clear across partners. Can you sit in exit rows, or not? Can you use the lounge, or not? Priority baggage handling? Etc.

- You need a Ph.D. in Milesology to figure out how many miles you’ll actually earn in your “home” program. Buy a ticket that involves SAS, ANA, and Lufthansa, and you might only earn 25%, 70%, and 50%, respectively, of the miles flown if you credit a United Mileage Plus account. Ridiculous!

- Alliances are potentially monopolistic. (SkyTeam has already been investigated for price-fixing.) With multiple companies selling the same itinerary, competition concerns are appropriate.

Now, on top of it all, Gary Leff points to another problem: Fluctuating redemption restrictions. Some alliance members already seem to discriminate against some partners. Try inquiring about award ticket availabilty using Lufthansa’s miles. Then try the same award — same dates, flights, class, etc. — using US Airways miles. Odds are that the availability differs.

Now United is putting the kibosh on business class awards on Singapore Airlines, long considered one of the best (and most luxurious) carriers. Now, under the new rules, if you’re trying to book seats in business class, you can’t book two flights in a row on Singapore. Let’s say you fly over the Pacific in business class on Singapore, and you want to another destination in Asia, also on Singapore. That connecting flight has to be in coach. Even though you’re “paying” the full business rate in miles.

You can avoid this by flying two different Star Alliance airlines, but why why why is this sort of gamesmanship necessary?

If the Star Alliance is really worth anything for consumers, then the alliance’s management will clamp down on this sort of intra-alliance discrimination. Don’t hold your breath.