Hey-did you hear the good news? China Eastern is joining the SkyTeam alliance. What you may not have heard is that although you can earn “regular” Delta SkyMiles when flying on China Eastern, you will not earn MQM’s (the miles that count towards earning elite status)
This seems to be an unfortunate trend within the SkyTeam Alliance: Passengers can earn Delta SkyMiles for itineraries flown on partner airlines, but NO MQM’s! Many of the airlines where you WILL earn Delta MQM’s are simply not practical for US based travellers. I have a hard time sitting on a plane for more than 2 hours knowing I will earn nothing towards Delta Elite status. To be sure, let’s have a look at SkyTeam members and Delta’s other airline partners.
You can earn MQM’s on most fare classes on the following SkyTeam members, but good luck booking a flight on some of them! My thoughts are next to the airline
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines - they fly from Washington DC, NYC & LAX
- Aeromexico - I am indifferent, but I won’t be flying a 767 from Tijuana to Tokyo; actually, I won’t be flying from Tijuana to Tokyo at all, ever
- Air Europa - They fly out of JFK and Miami
- Air France - Solid!
- Alitalia - Solid!
- China Southern - LAX only
- Czech Airlines – JFK only
- KLM – Solid BUT show me a US gateway where KLM comes in with the lowest fare
- Kenya Airways – Zero US destinations
- Korean Air - Solid!
I think you catch my drift: In reality folks, only 4 (depending where you live) of the above SkyTeam members are meaningful and significant to a Delta frequent flyer.
Not to fear, Delta also has 11 other airline partners including Midwest, whose relationship expires with Delta on June 7, BUT on only 1 of 11 of those airline partners (Alaska Airlines) will passengers earn Delta MQM’s. China Eastern is listed as one of these partners, and of course, no MQM’s can be earned. If you are flying from the US on a SkyTeam member or partner, chances are it’s a long haul route. Long haul = lots of miles, but maybe NO MQM’s.
These are all the airlines you will NOT earn MQM’s on:
- Hawaiian
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Avianca
- China Airlines
- China Eastern
- Jet Airways
- Kingfisher
- V Australia
- Midwest
Granted my thoughts are from a United States/Delta Airlines centric point of view, but Delta is the largest airline in the world and the anchor on the SkyTeam boat.
SkyTeam is small and you suffer for that. That being said, I’d be quite surprised if you cannot earn MQMs one China Eastern actually joins SkyTeam. It is not uncommon for the initial partnership to be RDMs only and then the MQMs come along once the airline is in the alliance. If you look at the Delta charts you link to they are still in the “other partners” category.
Regarding the AM flight TIJ-NRT, I thought it was on their 772 and was a top-notch product. Did they downgrade it? It makes for a very useful alternative for getting to Asia when your SkyPesos cannot be redeemed on DL metal for anything but 3x rates.
Somewhat flawed post. Most airlines have non-alliance partners on which one can accrue miles and or redeem, but without flights counting towards elite status.
China Eastern is joining Skyteam in 2011 and after it does one will earn MGMs on it.
The international airline alliances are VERY useful for extending reach for Skyteam once a U.S. passenger is already in or connecting in Europe/Asia/Africa.
really?
on delta’s web, it still shows you can earn MQM, but except B, E, I, J, L, N
Once they join SkyTeam, MQM earning is mandatory
If I fly an AF codeshare with china Eastern will I earn MQM?
@Louis –Assuming you are referring to Delta MQM’s, my immediate answer is “highly doubtful”, but I have not done any research on an itinerary of such nature. My guess is, somewhere in fine print on Delta’s website, their policy states only flights operated by AF would qualify for MQM’s… or something similar