Row One
Magazine
Three kinds of piece: what is changing at the airlines, the rules of the programmes worth knowing, and what the fares actually did.
Miles & More Senator status: Star Alliance Gold in 2026
After this you will know which of the two Miles & More thresholds you are short of, what Senator costs to fly for, and whether a cheaper route to the same card suits you better.
oneworld status in 2026: Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby compared
Three ranks, and only two of them open a lounge. After this you will know which rank is worth chasing and which member programme your flights should be credited to.
Flying Blue status in 2026: XP for SkyTeam Elite Plus
Twelve short business segments reach the card that opens a lounge. After this you will know how many XP you need, and which two rules quietly take some of them back.
Airline status in 2026: costs, status match, cheapest routes
A paid match to the top rank in oneworld runs about 647 euros; flying for Star Alliance Gold runs about 1,954. After this you will know which door to use, and when no card is worth buying.
Lufthansa Allegris: the new routes for winter 2026/27
Eleven more destinations get Lufthansa's new long-haul cabin when the winter timetable starts on 25 October 2026. Whether your own flight has it depends on the aircraft, and the fare does not say.
SWISS Senses from Zurich: four long-haul routes this winter
SWISS Senses is the airline's new first and business class. From 25 October 2026 it flies four long-haul routes out of Zurich, the day the new Bengaluru service also starts, and the fare does not tell you which cabin you booked.
EU passenger rights 2026: compensation stays at three hours
Parliament approved the reform on 7 July 2026 by 646 votes to 12. You keep 250 to 600 euros from three hours late, the current rules run for another year, and the practice of cancelling your return flight because you skipped the outbound is banned.
Aegean Miles+Bonus: Gold needs 12 flights from 5 November 2026
Aegean has sold the cheapest route into Star Alliance Gold in Europe. From 5 November 2026 the same card asks twelve Aegean or Olympic flights instead of four, so a qualification you have already started now has a deadline.
Miles & More Senator: five first class legs at 400 points each
Senator is the Lufthansa group's Star Alliance Gold card. Since 1 January 2026 an intercontinental first class leg pays 400 points instead of 300, which takes the qualification from seven legs down to five, where business class still needs ten.
Turkish Airlines' new Crystal business class, from November 2026
Crystal is a suite with a door in a 1-2-1 layout, arriving on newly delivered A350s from November 2026. The 777s are not expected to follow before 2027 or 2028, so the same route at a similar fare can be either cabin.
Emirates and Qatar Airways: the business class retrofit in 2026
Emirates has rebuilt 95 aircraft of 219 and is taking older 777s from seven seats a row to four, while Qatar's next Qsuite reaches selected London and New York routes through 2026. On one route at one fare, the seat map decides what you get.
Separate tickets: who pays when you miss the connection?
Nobody does, and that is what the saving buys. Which protections you hand over when you split a trip into two bookings, and which of them you can buy back cheaply.
Through-checked bags on separate tickets: does it work?
Sometimes, and never because anybody owes it to you. What to plan for at the staging airport, so the bag costs you an hour instead of the long-haul ticket.
Business class cheaper abroad: 5,182 francs less in Budapest
The same SWISS First Class seat costs 8,638 francs sold in Zurich and 3,289 sold in Budapest. Why that gap exists, how often it is big enough to be worth a detour, and how to price your own route.
Hidden city ticketing 2026: is it allowed?
What the German federal court actually decided on 28 October 2025, what a skipped leg costs you whoever turns out to be right, and why our own searches use the opposite technique. This is not legal advice.
Lounge access: business class ticket or Star Alliance Gold
Two things open the door, and they fail in different places. Which lounge you can count on at your home airport when the cheap hop and the long-haul sit on separate bookings, and which you cannot.
Status on a cheap business fare: does it count in full?
In two of the four big programmes it counts exactly as much as an expensive ticket. In the other two the cheap fare earns proportionally less. Pick the programme before you book and a saved 300 francs costs you no status at all.