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  3. Airline alliances have travellers scratching their heads over what’s going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a bless

Airline alliances have travellers scratching their heads over what’s going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a bless

admin2021-02-21  71
问题    Airline alliances have travellers scratching their heads over what’s going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travellers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big businesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whatever your opinion, there’s no escaping airline alliances: the marketing propaganda is unrelenting, with each of the two mega-groupings, Oneworld and Star Alliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travellers.
   Are alliances good for the passenger? Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP (frequent flyer programme) benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then there’s the promise of "seamless" travel: the ability to, say, travel from Singapore to Rome to New York to Rio de Janiero, all on one ticket, without having to wait hours for connections or worry about your bags. Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacific’s director of sales and marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. "It’s fair to say that these links are only in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. We’re working on this." Henry Ma, spokesperson for Star Alliance in Hong Kong, lists some of the other benefits for consumers, "Global travellers have an easier time making connections and planning their journeys." Ma claims alliances also assure passengers consistent service standards.
   Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and running joint marketing programmes. Jeff Blyskal, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, says the promotional advertising over alliances, loud and insistent, is much busy activity about nothing. "I don’t see much of a gain for consumers: alliances are just a marketing trick. And as far as seamless travel goes, I’ll believe it when I see it. Most airlines can’t even get their own connections under control, let alone coordinate with another airline."
   Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets.
   Those who’ve already made the elite grade in the FFP of a major airline stand to benefit the most when it joins an alliance: then they enjoy the FFP perks and advantages on any and all of the member carriers. For example, if you’re a Marco Polo Club "gold" member of Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles FFP, you will automatically be treated as a valuable customer by all members of Oneworld, of which Cathay Pacific is a member—even if you’ve never flown with them before.
   For those who haven’t made the top grade in any FFP, alliances might be a way of simplifying the earning of frequent flyer miles. And for infrequent flyers, the only real benefit drawn from an alliance is an inexpensive round-the-world fare.
   [A] believes that eventually passengers will pay more for fares due to airline alliances.
   [B] points out that seamless travel is evolving far away from its early stage.
   [C] emphasizes that basic systems and services are crucial to seamlessness rests.
   [D] values Marco Polo Club "gold" member of its Asia Miles Free Flyer Programme.
   [E] claims that airline alliances help travellers arrange their journeys easier.
   [F] propagates that the service it offers is the best one for all travellers.
   [G] holds that passengers get no benefit from airline alliances.
Henry Ma
选项
答案E
解析 Henry Ma出现在文中的第二段末，该段说到Henry Ma列出一些顾客能从航空联盟得到的好处：环球旅行者在转机和安排旅程时会更加轻松。E中的arrange their journeys是对原文planning their journeys的同义转述，easier是文中原词复现，故确定E为答案。
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