NY Times: Elite Status: A Ticket to Fly Comfortably
Jun 10, 2003 | 1:59 am
#1
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NY Times: Elite Status: A Ticket to Fly Comfortably
New York Times
June 10, 2003
Elite Status: A Ticket to Fly Comfortably
By JOE SHARKEY
THIS is being written from a cushy first-class seat on a Continental flight somewhere over Kansas. I was able to fly comfortably and even use my laptop, only because I received an upgrade based on my frequent-flier elite status. Otherwise, I'd be squeezed into one of those miserable little coach seats, scribbling on a legal pad, unfairly and pointlessly despising the person in the row ahead for reclining his seat all the way back.
Incidentally, my advance-purchase coach fare was $448.50, round trip, for this flight to Phoenix and back. Yet I arrived at the airport on Sunday already assured by e-mail from Continental that I would be in first class.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/10/business/10ROAD.html
[This message has been edited by daniels (edited 06-10-2003).]
June 10, 2003
Elite Status: A Ticket to Fly Comfortably
By JOE SHARKEY
THIS is being written from a cushy first-class seat on a Continental flight somewhere over Kansas. I was able to fly comfortably and even use my laptop, only because I received an upgrade based on my frequent-flier elite status. Otherwise, I'd be squeezed into one of those miserable little coach seats, scribbling on a legal pad, unfairly and pointlessly despising the person in the row ahead for reclining his seat all the way back.
Incidentally, my advance-purchase coach fare was $448.50, round trip, for this flight to Phoenix and back. Yet I arrived at the airport on Sunday already assured by e-mail from Continental that I would be in first class.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/10/business/10ROAD.html
[This message has been edited by daniels (edited 06-10-2003).]
Jun 10, 2003 | 2:59 am
#2
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This web site was a topic of discussion last week, though I haven't been able to find the thread. Another newspaper article inspired by a FT thread?
Jun 10, 2003 | 4:36 am
#3
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Please note Flyertalk's TOS ask that copyrighted articles only have two or three paragraphs posted, along with a hyperlink to the originating site.
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Jun 10, 2003 | 5:13 am
#4
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Jun 10, 2003 | 6:22 pm
#5
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MR. Bennett, if you read this, props to you for getting such a mention in the Times. A great PR job, congrats.
I still don't like your site though.
I still don't like your site though.
Jun 10, 2003 | 7:38 pm
#6
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Hi all,
To read the article without signing up for the NYT, click here...
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3F6422E4
Tim in Hollywood
To read the article without signing up for the NYT, click here...
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3F6422E4
Tim in Hollywood
Jun 10, 2003 | 8:15 pm
#7
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Thanks for the link, Tim !
Could somebody please enlighten me as to the numbers mentioned in the article ?
A circulation of 53,000 at 197$ a pop ?! Thats over 10 million bucks
In my opinion the guy (Bennet) does nothing but rip off a few pieces of information anybody can find here for free and touts them as "secrets"....
Could somebody please enlighten me as to the numbers mentioned in the article ?
A circulation of 53,000 at 197$ a pop ?! Thats over 10 million bucks
In my opinion the guy (Bennet) does nothing but rip off a few pieces of information anybody can find here for free and touts them as "secrets"....
Jun 10, 2003 | 10:09 pm
#8
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Mr. Upgrade's Newsletter sounds like a deal to me, all the info you ge here on FlyerTalk without havin' to put up with the whiners and riff-raff.
Jun 11, 2003 | 1:04 am
#9
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by snake:
Mr. Upgrade's Newsletter sounds like a deal to me, all the info you ge here on FlyerTalk without havin' to put up with the whiners and riff-raff.</font>
Mr. Upgrade's Newsletter sounds like a deal to me, all the info you ge here on FlyerTalk without havin' to put up with the whiners and riff-raff.
</font>
HEY!!!
I resemble that remark!!!
Jun 11, 2003 | 9:46 am
#10
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JohnG:
In my opinion the guy (Bennet) does nothing but rip off a few pieces of information anybody can find here for free and touts them as "secrets"....</font>
In my opinion the guy (Bennet) does nothing but rip off a few pieces of information anybody can find here for free and touts them as "secrets"....
</font>
he provides a service by collecting freely available travel information from public sources like FT, sorts them, filters the info, and presents them in a organized fashion.
the people who subscribes to this, pay their $200 so they don't have to spend half a day on FT everyday looking for info. they trade their money for time.
where is the rip off? obviously plenty of people believe that $200 is worth the time saved.
no one is stopping you to go out and publish a newsletter to compete
please, don't be jealous because you didn't think of it first
Jun 11, 2003 | 10:02 am
#11
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JohnG:
A circulation of 53,000 at 197$ a pop ?! Thats over 10 million bucks
:</font>
A circulation of 53,000 at 197$ a pop ?! Thats over 10 million bucks
:</font>
Jun 11, 2003 | 10:32 am
#12
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tim in Hollywood:
Hi all,
To read the article without signing up for the NYT, click here...
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3F6422E4
Tim in Hollywood</font>
Hi all,
To read the article without signing up for the NYT, click here...
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3F6422E4
Tim in Hollywood</font>
Jun 11, 2003 | 10:45 am
#13
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Originally posted by snake
Just what exactly is your definition of "riff-raff"?
Eric
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Mr. Upgrade's Newsletter sounds like a deal to me, all the info you get here on FlyerTalk without havin' to put up with the whiners and riff-raff.</font>
Mr. Upgrade's Newsletter sounds like a deal to me, all the info you get here on FlyerTalk without havin' to put up with the whiners and riff-raff.</font>
Eric
Jun 11, 2003 | 11:39 am
#14
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Posts: 5,968
A few things being missed from that article while in this talk about the flyer is:
1. The ridiculously generous comping that CO did to the NY Times writer to Platinum level.
2. The unsustainability of CO's free upgrade model, a matter already realized by those that have observed the manipulations behind the scenes. A marketing tool on whic CO's survival depends on.
1. The ridiculously generous comping that CO did to the NY Times writer to Platinum level.
2. The unsustainability of CO's free upgrade model, a matter already realized by those that have observed the manipulations behind the scenes. A marketing tool on whic CO's survival depends on.
Jun 11, 2003 | 12:20 pm
#15
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by swflaboy:
Just what exactly is your definition of "riff-raff"?
Eric
[/B]</font>
Just what exactly is your definition of "riff-raff"?
Eric
[/B]</font>
