I was thinking that the golden ring for most of us is upgrades. When we get em, we are happy. When we don't, we feel inferior to those who do.

It got me thinking. Those who fly Southwest and Midwest Express (entirely different products) don't ahve to worry about upgrades. And those flyers are often much less stressed than those who fly the larger carriers.

So here's the question.... What is the Golden Ring for these carriers? What SHOULD they be? Should there be threshold bonuses? Should an elite level allow for lower mile awards? Should YX elites have free access to the Best Care Club in MKE?

Upgrades as the major perk are getting to be a drag. It's more stressfull to acquire an upgrade then it is to endure a transcon on WN.

Thoughts?

They don't need ANY perks. They are doing well with wasting time or money on complicated so-called perks!

Southwest's Companion Pass is considered by some to be the best FF perk in the industry. And if you travel mostly short hops and get credits through the hotel and car rental partners, it can be earned more quickly than the lowest elite level at the majors.

They can still do upgrades - upgrades to the cockpit jumpseat.

And for top tier flyers they can offer upgrades to the pilot and co-pilot position.

d

Try the Southwest model for a transpacific flight.

Sit in a coach seat and ask not to have adjacent seats blocked.

Turn down the meal service, because you'll bring your own food.

Don't pre-board, just get on with the rest of the passengers.

It won't be a good experience.

A bad experience? I don't know, Bangor to Dublin would probably take about 5 1/2 hours or so. If I could do it for under $150, I would be thrilled to do so on WN.

As far as perks, I have never had to wait calling the WN reservations number on the back of the FF card. NEVER HAD TO WAIT, always answered on the first call. DL PM desk is good, but not as good as this. This is one of the best perks out there! And, yes, the companion pass is easy to get and great!

Yes, WN always answers their phone (the number on the back of the RR card) in one ring or so. Why can't the "majors" do that??

I have always marveled at the unhurried boarding process on Midwest Express. There is always going to be enough overhead bin space because of the low pax count.

As for Midwest Express and Southwest both, they are low stress in one way: you do not have to worry about getting an upgrade, not having gotten one, been promised one but didn't get it, waiting for one, etc.

In this one sense I think people are more satisfied with these airlines because they do not have to go through "upgrade stress syndrome."

I agree with Richard - part of the reason ME was my first choice of airlines is because everything and everyone is an upgraded. This year because of my travel schedule taking me to places I couldn't get to on YX and the challenge of seeing what all the fuss was getting status on another airline I will hit 1K with UA (next trip) and maintained plus status with YX also. But everytime I travel with a biz parter w/o status on UA and they sit in coach I feel bad - I prefer the YX solution of equality.

I don't know what YX could offer to increase my current level of satisfaction with them that would be incentive to fly more - something to think about.

I agree with the last 2 opinions - I used to fly CO and scrambled for upgrades but when I found out that Midwest flew non-stop instead of a connection like CO did to Reagan, I tried them and won't ever go back except to destinations Midwest doesn't serve. They may be more expensive, but I'm not chasing upgradeable fares, worrying about elites ahead of me on the waitlist, etc - and the seat room is terrific. Another thing - I don't miss that Pavlovian response I used to get when I got an upgrade - the airlines call it a 'reward' but it began to feel like more of a doggy biscuit I 'earned' by jumping through their hoops. But since I wasn't guaranteed my biscuit, I wasn't always a happy puppy.

But no stress now in that regards, which is good, since I need to reserve that for the 9/11 worries, A300 concerns, reclining seats, cancelled flights, etc - and I even have some left over for worrying whether I'm doing my part for this country by spending enough money on stuff I don't need!

Here's a wild and probably ignorant idea - why not gradually eliminate the frequent flyer program rewards as they are now, in the sense of honoring them until the miles are used up, then switching the programs to a price discount tier and still keep the upgrades. After all, a lot of elites get there by travelling on business. For a crude example, as soon as an elite level is reached, give some fixed percentage off all future purchases of tickets for that person as long as their elite level is current, something applicable to either business or personal travel. You could even offer the discounts based on class of travel. Say 5% for silvers coach, 10% for silvers business, 10% for gold coach, 15% for gold business, and 20% for platinum coach, 20-25% for platinum business.

These are just examples to make my point, but I think this whole frequent fliers miles concept has gone way overboard and rewards people for buying merchandise, flowers, phone service, you name it! And it leads to tons of rewards that cannot be claimed due to lack of reward seats held back by the airlines. Add the administrative costs in administering this program and it ain't cheap!

Yeah, I do those other things to get miles because the program exists, it's easy and you're nuts not to take advantage of it. But it doesn't mean it's the best system in light of the current troubles.

Of course it wouldn't be a good experience, the product isn't designed to work under those conditions. By the same token, you could take a Mercedes S class offroading, but it wouldn't do well, because it's not DESIGNED for that. Their formula works for the destinations they fly to. WN is a great airline, but there's no way in h-ll I'd fly 'em for more than a two hour flight.

By your logic, I could argue that the CX product wouldn't be a good experience. Try flying HOU-DAL on CX. It takes forever to board and for everyone to find their assigned seats. Most people never get served because the FAs are scrambling trying to get service done and don't have enough time.

Now on the original topic, I think Southwest already has it down. Can't beat free flights. Fly a few times, get a free ticket you can use whenever for whatever reason. Fly more, get more tickets. Fly a LOT and take your companion with you wherever for free as long as there's a seat open.

None. That's why they're a one class airline.

Of course, in Southwest's case, I'd say that if they want my business, they'll have to give me an assigned seat, but they'll never do that.

It's the difference between Walmart and Nordstrom. Southwest is Walmart, and the rest of the majors are like Nordstrom.

Au contraire.

I think the better perceptual map is:

Walmart = Southwest (everyday low price, relentless lowering of costs)
Jetblue = Target (low price but with style and attitude, not perfect analogy due to size disparity w/Walmart)
Airtran = Kmart (after a swoon, perking up a bit)
Other discounters (Vanguard/etc) =Ames/ShopKo/etc (shaky, relatively speaking)
Big 5 airlines = regular department stores (Federated/May/Dillards) (every day a sale, poor sales help)
Midwest Express = Nordstrom (higher priced, higher service, not price leader, treat everyone well)

Any comments?

Sometimes you just need to take a quick trip to Wal-Mart (although no Wright Amendment at Wal-Mart).

Occasionally you treat yourself to Nordstrom's (or Needless Markup).

BTW, I've NEVER found YX to have higher fares on competative routes. In fact, they have always fared lower on transcon routes without a sat night stay.