And, yes, he was referring to DM when he said "best ... in the world." And believe it or not, he wasn't laughing when he said it.

:rolleyes: I'll have to keep an eye out for him at the used car lots this weekend.

With 500,000+ miles I cannot use to get to OZ at any time via Biz or FC, I'd beg to differ with his value judgement.

A CEO doing a sales job for his company on CNBC?

Tell me it isn't so! ;)

A CEO doing a sales job for his company on CNBC?

Tell me it isn't so! ;)

This is from the LCC conference call, not CNBC, by the way.

Best for them, perhaps.

I've faced the fact that a free ride essentailly costs 50,000 miles now. I remember when it was 20,000.

Best for them, perhaps.

I've faced the fact that a free ride essentailly costs 50,000 miles now. I remember when it was 20,000.


Is that on the US side? I've seen a number of HP awards for 25k.

Is that on the US side? I've seen a number of HP awards for 25k.

What he is referring to is the US fraud of not making standard mileage awards available for redemption. So, what this means...in fact...is that when you want to go somewhere in the USA for 25,000 miles in coach you will miraculously find that only 50,000 mile (premium) awards are available. When you want to go in First, you will miraculously find that only 100,000 mile (premium) tickets are available instead of the standard 50,000 mile award. If you want to go to Europe in Envoy, it will not be for 80,000 miles (standard) but instead it will be for 160,000 miles (premium).

US has a new policy of not making standard mileage awards available 84% of the time.

What US senior executives have not yet figured out is that any award ticket at any level represents no revenue to them. So they settle for the thrill of mistreating and misleading their most profitable customers.

Don't worry though, it won't last long. They are losing their market right now.

What are you complaining about? Most of my markets don't even have reasonable paid fares, let alone award tickets. It's getting bad out there!!

I was expecting a rant from you about Parker's statement that fares still aren't high enough and US is going to lead the way in increasing prices for the more inexpensive fare classes going forward. He also bashed old US management for irrational fare sales that made no financial sense, but were conducted in a desperate attempt to win back customer loyalty.
So, given the way they see things in Tempe, perhaps you should choose a different carrier and cover your short position before you lose even more ground and even more sanity.

Best for them, perhaps.

I've faced the fact that a free ride essentailly costs 50,000 miles now. I remember when it was 20,000.

Isn't that the truth! (Even when I try to book 11 months in advance.)

Isn't that the truth! (Even when I try to book 11 months in advance.)
It's unfortunate to those of us who got used to liberal availability for sure. But it probably does make sense for the long-term viability of the company that travelers are no longer able to secure things like Sunday-Sunday award flights to the Caribbean during Spring Break season two weeks before the date of departure for 30,000 miles as was the case in '04 and '05.

US has a new policy of not making standard mileage awards available 84% of the time.

Isn't that roughly your policy for making up "facts" ? Sounds about right to me on that front. :rolleyes:

Don't worry though, it won't last long. They are losing their market right now.

Right. Apparently you still can't read a filing. If you could, you'd notice the numbers tied to advance bookings are up in a rather large way. But, sure, if you insist, more advance bookings (in $ value), higher yields, fuller planes, etc are the signs of a failing airline.

Fact of the matter is that they gambled most FFs wouldn't even notice the "devaluation" (read: drop in bonus miles) - and it looks like so far they've been right. On time performance in the most recent survey places them above other legacies/majors, even with the most delay prone airport in the country as a connecting hub.

.. but hey, if we read you correctly, we'll see a run up of ANOTHER 50%, followed by a 67% decrease in value - all within the next month or so (30-55 days, did you say?) I'll just take a page from your book and say that you have about a 1.7563% chance of being anywhere close to correct.