Some people on the CO board have been complaining the CO is flagging their accounts due to complaints, etc.

Does anyone know what info is collected that is available based on your name/FF # versus things that disappear after you travel?

I asked my corp travel agent this question and the answer she got back to me after talking with former airline reservation agents is that all info is collected based on ticket numbers and almost nothing other than a list of flights taken is collected at the FF # level. Therefore any complaints, bad habits you have, etc are forgotten once your trip ends...

Thanks for any info!

I am very interested in the responses to this question.

I just forwarded this question to airline industry friends of mine, so I will see what they say, as they are able to respond.

From what I do know(not much, I know, ha ha),
airlines keep a file on people...You send them letters, can be comments when talking to reservations(yes, they do record those), travel habits, etc. Do you find it a coincidence that you will get e-mail/physical mail promoting a certain destination that you always go to?

Anyway, there was a letter in a business travel magazine from a frequent flyer on Air Canada. She complained, probably justified. When they would swipe her boarding pass at the gate, all kinds of bad comments would come up on the screen, like she complains, etc... then would get bad treatment... They would see her as a problem pax, and would brush her off. My friend somehow got a black mark with United, wasn't good. They didn't want to sell him tickets, and this was long ago, before all the security idiocy.

One reason I don't always complain to an airline, even if I feel justified. You might like the extra 5K miles they give you for griping, but it gets recorded in the system. That I can promise you. Too many of those, you are a problem passenger...

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Michael
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
HH GLD, SCI GLD, MM SIL
LE PRESIDENT ETERNEL DE CAMAIR-CAMEROUN AIRLINES

As I am very interested in this topic, could someone please post a link to this subject at the CO board? thanks. I will go over and check it out... I would like to see some good discussion on this, thanks...

I'm pretty sure that they keep a pretty complete file on you.

I remember some people in the AA forum months, if not years, ago saying that sometimes they ask the Admirals Club agents to print out the comments.

More recently, I remember some FAs saying that the airlines keep track of pax who have been difficult on recent flights, so they know what they're in for.

d

Someone mentioned on the CO board that you can complain to WE-CARE 2 once and get basically anything, but then the spigot shuts off and the rest of your complaints fall on deaf ears. In regular business this would mean a airlines are using a simple CRM system, but I don't love the thought of this happening because we all know how often the airlines screw up.
It also gives some credence to the concern about comments made on a board like this following you through your posted email address to your FF account...

There was an article in the WSJ about a year go that was saying AA was implementing a CRM system that would basically track everything and proactivelly suggest what agents should do to keep you happy.

For instance, if your last few flights have had problems (delays, mechanical, or something) the system would automatically suggest that gate agents give you an upgrade or special services escort you to your connecting gate, or something along those lines.

Not sure what the status of it is.

d

There were rumors that Delta was doing the same thing a while ago on the DL board, but I haven't heard anything about it recently ...

Doppy, that makes good business sense, but I fear the airlines won't use it that way. They will probably use it more like an enemies list, which violates the spirit of their role as a common carrier but which is also probably good business (80/20 rule).

FWIW, I had a bad problem with DL's baggage handling on Thanksgiving, wrote a letter, and have heard nothing.

I'd love to know if that letter you wrote makes you a serial complainer in their minds...
My wife and I were bumped off a flight (semi-voluntarily) through some confusion on Saturday night. Basically, we offered to volunteer to get bumped off a red-eye on CO in exchange for compensation that wasn't defined at that point with the understanding that we would take a later flight on AA that night. As the gate agents finished check-in, they realized that they had double-booked a seat, and spent the next 15 minutes trying to unravel that mess. When they got back to the oversold situation, they took a look at the list of volunteers and let the plane go...except they forget to let us know what the compensation was...When they said $250, I said no, and then they admitted that it was too late and that the plane was gone. Then they realized that they couldn't put us on the AA flight b/c AA doesn't allow bumped passengers from another airline who checked luggage on the first airline (post 9/11 security). So we had to stay overnight and fly back the next morning.

Since it was end of our honeymoon, we weren't thrilled with the circumstances. I wanted to complain, but have had several major problems with CO this year and didn't want to add this complaint to the list. I let my wife handle the argument through her Gold Elite # (I'm Plat) and was able to read part of the PNR the next morning. Based on what I read about her complaint, she won't be a popular person in Houston--"Customer changed mind after agreeing to vol bump", "Cust accepted compensation, now complaining", stuff like that.
It would be weird if the next time she asks for help on something, they reference this situation (either implicitly through their service or explicitly though asking her not to volunteer to be bumped again)