Frequent flyers of two dozen top-tier airlines such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Lufthansa can grab a free status match to SkyTeam’s Elite and ElitePlus tiers this month.
The airline offering the complimentary status match is newly-minted SkyTeam member ITA Airways, the Italian state-backed carrier which in October 2021 arose from the ashes of Alitalia (also a former SkyTeam alum).
Through its also-new Volare frequent flyer program, ITA is dangling the carrot of a full year of SkyTeam status, through to December 2022.
The list of airlines whose frequent flyers can apply for this status match are those which ITA appears to consider its main rivals on key routes across Europe and into the USA and Asia:
- Aeroflot
- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Air Europa
- Air France/KLM
- American Airlines
- ANA
- British Airways
- Czech Airline
- Delta Air Lines
- El Al
- Emirates
- Iberia
- Korean Air
- Lufthansa
- Middle East Airlines
- Qatar Airlines
- Royal Jordanian
- Saudia
- Singapore Airlines
- Swiss
- TAP
- Tarom
- Turkish Airways
- United Airlines
ITA’s predecessor Alitalia it also included in the status match offer – a sensible move, considering that Alitalia MilleMiglia status now counts for naught.
(Note that ITA qualifies that status match is available only for travellers “belonging to premium tiers” in their current airline’s loyalty program, compared to “tiers not accessible simply by signing up to the program.”)
Why apply for an ITA Volare SkyTeam status match?
With Covid reshaping airlines and travel – some airlines have collapsed, others are restarting routes piecemeal, while some countries remain off-limits at least to Australians – 2022 could see some travellers temporarily forced to shift from their usual airline of choice, or even alliance of choice, depending on their destination.
This means it’s the right time to have status in another set of airlines – those of SkyTeam – tucked away as your Plan B.
And SkyTeam enjoys a membership roster of almost 20…