MN converting to KN with K being the old B fare bucket suggests that CO is tightening the belt on non-elite EasyPass award inventory. Any comment on this observation?
Hi sbm12, although it would appear that way, that's not the case, our EasyPass inventory for non-Elite members will continue to be allocated at the same rate it is today. That being the case, it's fair to assume that KN will not simply be mapped to K availability.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbm12
Is it safe to assume that the 50/100/150% rules remain the same based on the old classes and where they map? So GWESTNL are the new 50% classes?
Close, but not quite. As outlined in #5 in my original post, G class (currently known as Q class) will be bumped up to 100% EQMs regardless of where booked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbm12
With all of these changes what is the expected impact on the systems that record the credits into he OnePass system? Are the new ones expected to be crediting correctly starting in two weeks?
That's the plan. Worth clarifying, the earliest date an itinerary will have the new fare classes will be Jan. 21.
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Originally Posted by sbm12
When will we start seeing the classes changing for currently booked tickets on co.com? The 16th?
You'll start seeing the new fare classes for bookings made on or after Jan. 17 for travel on or after Jan. 21.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbm12
You going to make it up to BRU that zeekend for some quality beer?
I wish. Enjoy something wonderful and thrice-fermented for me.
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As always I appreciate the open and proactive communication by CO with this change. It seems like, short of traveling during the migration time-period, it will have minimal impact on anything with the exception of minor confusion while we all familiarize ourselves with the new system.
Undoubtedly this is a move in preparation of harmonizing with UA and migrating over to the Star Alliance. Which is great.
What I have failed to understand since the dawn of time is airline's transparent use of fare buckets. I don't want to buy an H fare, I want to buy a refundable fare. I shouldn't have to know that means H (sometimes, but not all the time, sometimes, when the moon is waxing and you're flying trans-atlantic, and purchase within 14 days, and the revenue manager had chicken for dinner, H is actually not refundable).
Sell me what I want to buy, not what you're trying to sell me. And sell me something that has a value, and isn't a meaningless letter next to the fare (which is how the vast majority of the traveling public relates to fare codes). And then upsell me with some sort of tangible value.
I've said it on FT a gazillion times, but I fail to comprehend why US airlines are obsessed with selling their cheapest product. They've conditioned the market for this.
The first airline that can sell their product like an actual product, and not a commodity with all kinds of obtuse and archaic rules that only make sense to those with a lot of time and/or an unhealthy obsession with the industry will be the first airline to be consistently profitable.
Oh, wait. There is an airline that does that. The one that (almost) always seems to make money. WN.
Sorry for the quasi off-topic rant. It just gives me an ice-cream headache trying to figure out why an airline, like CO, that seems to have such excellent business sense fails so miserably at this.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by belynch
What I have failed to understand since the dawn of time is airline's transparent use of fare buckets. I don't want to buy an H fare, I want to buy a refundable fare. I shouldn't have to know that means H (sometimes, but not all the time, sometimes, when the moon is waxing and you're flying trans-atlantic, and purchase within 14 days, and the revenue manager had chicken for dinner, H is actually not refundable).
You don't have to. All you have to do is check the "refundable" box when doing a pre-purchase search.
Quote:
The first airline that can sell their product like an actual product, and not a commodity with all kinds of obtuse and archaic rules that only make sense to those with a lot of time and/or an unhealthy obsession with the industry will be the first airline to be consistently profitable.
Oh, wait. There is an airline that does that. The one that (almost) always seems to make money. WN.
Have you heard? WN has started to use a new computer system that will allow it to offer far more different fares than it could offer in the past.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CO Insider
Upgrades for travel on Jan. 16-19 will be generous but unconventional. Our EUA and automatic OnePass reward waitlist clearance will be paused Jan. 16-19. Eligible customers traveling on these days will be upgraded using our most generous assumptions possible in advance of these systems going offline. Eligible customers not upgraded in advance will still be added to upgrade standby list upon check-in, and when applicable, cleared at the gate using our normal process. EUA and automatic reward waitlist clearance will resume on Jan. 19 for customers traveling Jan. 20 and onward. If this timeframe changes, we'll let you know.
YIKES.
Traveling on 3 mainline flights on Jan 21 (2) and Jan 22 (1).
However all are in L class (low probability of upgrade) and the first flight on Jan 21 is BWI-IAH.
(almost all flights out of D.C. area sold out on 21-Jan...day after inauguration.)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xyzzy
All you have to do is check the "refundable" box when doing a pre-purchase search.
Right. That was one example. But in the H fare kerfuffle I reference above, if you clicked refundable, you got an "H" fare. So if you went around and did a little price shopping, and realized that you were a slave to OnePass and went back to purchase the "H" fare and just punched "H" into the "what fare do you want" box, it would have come up with a non-refundable H. You know, cause the moon and the chicken and all...
Quote:
Originally Posted by xyzzy
Have you heard? WN has started to use a new computer system that will allow it to offer far more different fares than it could offer in the past.
No, I hadn't. Living in NY I actually don't pay much attention to WN.
I'm not opposed to every seat on the plane having a different fare code. But, as a passenger, I shouldn't be burdened with the archaic nonsense that is fare buckets. Just sell me a seat, at a price I'm willing to pay, with the services I think are valuable. And tell me, in a straight-forward manner, what exactly it is that I'm buying.
Airlines could get creative with how they bundle services. Kinda like the Air Canuck model.
I'm not a fan of the everything a la carte USeless system of p*ssing off pax. But, if I were to pay $50 to fly somewhere, I think it's very reasonable to expect I might have to pay extra for luggage or a bev. Where US completely whiffs is they still sell you the $1200 PHL - BDL fare and then hit you over the head for your $2 water. That's just insulting.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by belynch
Right. That was one example. But in the H fare kerfuffle I reference above, if you clicked refundable, you got an "H" fare. So if you went around and did a little price shopping, and realized that you were a slave to OnePass and went back to purchase the "H" fare and just punched "H" into the "what fare do you want" box, it would have come up with a non-refundable H. You know, cause the moon and the chicken and all...
That's quite a stretch IMHO.
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The 50% EQM on deeply discounted tickets will probably no longer exist once CO joins *A with higher codeshare agreement with UA. Likewise, there will probably be an aligned upgrade method with UA. I think the 50% EQM is a skyteam thing.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlissWorld
The 50% EQM on deeply discounted tickets will probably no longer exist once CO joins *A with higher codeshare agreement with UA. Likewise, there will probably be an aligned upgrade method with UA. I think the 50% EQM is a skyteam thing.
That would be nice, but I wouldn't count on it. Also, *A carriers in Europe have their own form of this. Besides, the 50% thing seems to be working just fine for CO.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xyzzy
That's quite a stretch IMHO.
It happened to me a couple months ago and I fancy myself relatively intelligent.
I was shopping around, needed a refundable fare and ended up buying an H. I went to go change the return and was told I'd have a fee. "But I have an H fare" I said, and the rep said "yeah, but you have the non-refundable H..."
When I buy I ticket I'd love to see an orbitz-esque matrix.
Seat - $50
Seat + Choose your seat in advance - $55
Seat + choose + front half of plane - $60
Seat + choose + front half + free first bag - $70
Seat + choose + front + bag + board in zone 2 - $75
... and so on right through refundable, no restrictions, we'll let you fly the plane if you want.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by belynch
When I buy I ticket I'd love to see an orbitz-esque matrix.
Seat - $50
Seat + Choose your seat in advance - $55
Seat + choose + front half of plane - $60
Seat + choose + front half + free first bag - $70
Seat + choose + front + bag + board in zone 2 - $75
The overwhelming majority of customers want the least expensive option.
Quote:
... and so on right through refundable, no restrictions, we'll let you fly the plane if you want.
I'll take that one
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlissWorld
The 50% EQM on deeply discounted tickets will probably no longer exist once CO joins *A with higher codeshare agreement with UA. Likewise, there will probably be an aligned upgrade method with UA. I think the 50% EQM is a skyteam thing.
50% EQM was a CO thing, although they took their cue from Mullin's Delta but Delta ended up dropping their implementation of the rule. I don't expect *A will have any effect on this policy and its continuation was likely discussed before anything with UA or *A was signed. In fact, I suspect that *A customers booking lower fares on CO operated flights will experience lower elite mileage credit.
I don't expect any upgrades on UA nor any of the other *A carriers unless I redeem some type of mileage award - nor should any UA/US fliers expect free upgrades on CO.
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