MilesBuzz! - 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).]

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?

Please note Flyertalk's TOS ask that copyrighted articles only have two or three paragraphs posted, along with a hyperlink to the originating site.

------------------
Craig6z
Buzz & United Moderator
moderator2@operamail.com

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/Forum11/HTML/007067.html

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. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Hi all,

To read the article without signing up for the NYT, click here...

http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3F6422E4

Tim in Hollywood

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 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif

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".... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

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. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<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. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif</font>


HEY!!!

I resemble that remark!!!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<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".... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif</font>

someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, eh?

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

<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 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif

:</font>

Did it say *paid* circulation? I'd bet that is the total circulation of the free newsletter which is supposed to "entice" you to pay the $$.

<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>

My office computer blocked it because it said it's a sex related link!!! Guess I'll have to wait til I get home!

Originally posted by snake

<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>

Just what exactly is your definition of "riff-raff"?

Eric

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.

<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>

Eric, methinks snake's tongue was firmly in cheek. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Venk wrote:
The ridiculously generous comping that CO did to the NY Times writer to Platinum level.</font>

A brilliant PR job also. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I tried it. There was some interesting material there but nothing that I could really use. I cancelled my account and got my money back right away. I do think his newsletters have things not in FT but without searching all of FT, I couldn't be sure. There are also alot of things on FT that are not in his newsletter so go figure. His monthly newsletters are in pdf form and are about 7-8 pages. If you want, give it a try. He does have a money back gurantee so no worries there.

I subscribed to the free version of the newsletter for a while. All it really contained was teasers for the paid version. There was very little of use without paying the $ and I'm not willing to do that.


As far as the article is concerned, Delta may have made changes but there's been *quite* an outcry from loyal Delta Skymiles members.

[This message has been edited by xyzzy (edited 06-11-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">swflaboy asks:

Just what exactly is your definition of "riff-raff"?</font>

According to Websters: 1. disreputable persons.

Sound like anybody around here? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

It would be hard to convince anyone to sign up to the paid newsletter, given the total amateurishness of that website. Plus, every other item is another come on to buy the subscription. With that kind of desperation, this smacks of a rip off.