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Skyteam status match for airlines and hotel status
If you have not done any Skyteam status matches yet, a new one has emerged that is less strict on the criteria for matching and has relatively low fees. The match is with Kenyan Airways Asante scheme and allows you to match against your airline, hotel status or credit card.
How the tiers map across
As most readers will have British Airways Club status, here is how that maps across:
- Bronze – Silver Elite
- Silver – Gold Elite Plus (Skyteam Elite)
- Gold – Platinum Elite Plus (Skyteam Elite Plus)
Gold Guest List
Premier
You can see the full list on the status match page. The new status will be valid for a year.
What SkyTeam benefits will I get?
Asante Gold Elite Plus = SkyTeam Elite
You get an extra luggage allowance and priority check-in.
Asante Platinum Elite Plus = SkyTeam Elite Plus
SkyPriority services for priority check-in, security, boarding, baggage handling, and lounge access.
Which airlines/hotels/credit cards are accepted?
If you hold any travel rewards credit card, you are invited to apply. All major airlines are included, such as Finnair, Iberia, BA, Qatar, Singapore, Lufthansa, Etihad, and Emirates. Similarly, all major hotel loyalty schemes are included, with smaller ones such as Leaders Club, GHA, and Langham being included. In general, Gold and above in hotel status will match to Gold Elite Plus in Asante.
How much does it cost?
Airline status Match & Credit Card Match
- Silver – 80 USD
- Gold & Platinum – 175 USD
Hotel Status to match
- Silver – 99 USD
- Gold – 299 USD
- Platinum – Not Available
Travel Rewards Credit Card to match
- Silver – 99 USD
- Gold & Platinum – Not Available
How to apply
You will need to open a Kenyan Asante account first and then go to the status match page here. You will be asked for proof of your status and may also be asked for proof of identity, such as a passport.
You will be informed within three (3) business days following your completed application of the requested information and documentation whether or not your status match has been approved. Once approved, your new status will appear on your account within 3 business days.
British Airways’ new Brewdog drafts at Gatwick lounge
We are a little scant on details, but BrewDog is now available at BA’s Gatwick lounge on tap in addition to the canned beers. It does not appear to be a proper area like the old BA lounge at JFK had, but a feature within the bar that has two beers on tap – Punk IPA and appropriately, Wingman. It does not say whether it is the Club lounge or the First lounge, but I think it is safe to say it’s most likely the Club lounge.
British Airways and IAG mid-year results
I was interested to see BA’s mid-year results given the badly received changes to their Club loyalty scheme at the end of 2024. While most people predict we won’t see the full fallout from the changes until after 2026, the majority of frequent flyers I have seen have changed their behaviour as a result – not booking Club Europe, flying BA less, and looking at other loyalty schemes. I have flown both EasyJet and Vueling this year, and you know what, other than the status perks which can be bought in the main, there is little difference in the economy products.
IAG, BA’s parent brand, reported revenue growth in the first half of 8.0% to €15,906 million with operating profit before exceptional items in H1 2025 increased by 43.5% to €1,878 million, driven by revenue, fuel and foreign exchange benefits.
Luis Gallego, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our strong performance in the first half of 2025 reflects the resilience of demand for travel and the success of our ongoing transformation, underpinned by the fundamental strengths of our Group. “We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel. We remain focused on our marketleading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance, allowing us to invest in fleet as well as technology to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. “These results give us confidence that we will deliver good earnings growth and margin progression for the full year and enable us to create value for our shareholders through our sustainable dividend and the share buyback.”
However, if you look at BA individually, there are a couple of things that stand out. British Airways increased its profit by a whopping £269 million to £824 million, related to its 2.1% increase in capacity, together with improved unit passenger revenue. However, the load factors were down, with the number of passengers carried down to 21,936 in the first half of 2025 from 22,110 in the same period in 2024. Load factor decreased from 83.3% to 81.9%. While this may be down to the increase in capacity, the reduction in passenger numbers tells a different story. The second quarter was slightly better than the 6-month average.
In terms of improvements, British Airways will refresh its lounges in Miami and Dubai in, both of which will be in the new style in the second half of 2025. It has now also refitted 69% of its Heathrow-based long-haul fleet with the Club Suite. Given it is now 6 years since the first A350 with Club Suites arrived, I’m not sure that is anything to shout about. British Airways delivered a 7.7 point improvement in its On Time Performance (OTP) to 83.2% as a consequence of steps it has taken over the last couple of years. In particular, this includes its new Heathrow Operating Model and AI-driven support.
Another interesting snippet from the report is that BA wants to increase its margin to 15% from the current ~11%. There are only two ways to do this – cut costs or increase revenue. Neither of these options is good news for passengers.
IAG Loyalty (which includes the whole group) issued 17% more Avios in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024, and 15% more Avios were redeemed in the same period.
3 comments
I have flown 0 miles with British Airways in 2025 and spent 0€ with them.
BA lost our respect decades ago with their inability to offer even the most basic level of service, consistently from flight to flight. Some staff were superb and others wouldn’t get a job stacking shelves on the night shift in a supermarket.
Their changes to the Executive Club were proof positive of their contempt for their customers; now the contempt is returned.
We plan to move away from BA (for both cash-paid flights and frequent flyer scheme) after March 2026. As Michele has said so many times: loyalty works both ways. Although we have maintained gold status on BA for 8 years straight, all that earning was on self-funded flights. So we will be looking for a scheme that rewards the leisure traveller. But I also get the impression that all Western airline schemes are moving towards rewarding Corporate travellers – maybe to to show governments that there is no need to install a tax on frequent flying??