JetAway

I just knew my idea would be popular. Count on it happening.

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

Somehow I suspect CO will want to maximize short-term revenue from this program. If this rumor is true, I strongly suspect CO will prioritize selling upgrades over processing free EUAs. If so, this gets a massive from me. This would be exactly the sort of move that would cause me to seek out a different carrier.

CLEHillbilly

I for one plan on doing just that on Saturday morning in one of the simulators!

to selling FC upgrades, If you decide to sell some food on board then I am OK with that, but $$ upgrades = Cheap IMHO.

bocastephen

I don't think it will come to that unless CO decides to move away from free upgrades altogether - and follow the UA model, where you earn some and buy more.

If that happens, I can't imagine why most of the 100K+ fliers here wouldn't migrate to AA, where not only are domestic upgrades free, but you get a stack of SWUs to use on your overseas mileage runs. The sub-100 folks will probably move to DL, assuming the rebellion going on over there undoes some of management's Mullinizing.

I would hate to leave CO - I've been Plat for almost 8 years straight - but 90% of the product for me is the domestic upgrade system. Take that away, or make it harder to get upgrades, and I will need to start looking for another carrier....and I believe a substantial amount of customers would follow me. CO isn't dumb - I'm sure they're aware of the impact such a change would have on their business. Variable costs are now way down (assuming they re-hedged), and bookings are dropping like a rock - they need to encourage more bookings, and maybe think of some beneficial ways to encourage incremental spend (i.e. B fare upgrades, selling upgrades to non-Elites AFTER Elite upgrades), not come up with ways to drive their core market away.

Houston2mnl

This would cause me to look 4 another airline. One of the two big reasons i joined onepass was because it was better than the rest. The watering down of onepass in the last year has been unsettling. This could be the final straw that breaks the prverbial camels back.

It is simply irritating how the are CONSTANTLY trying to chip away at their most loyal customers.

JetAway

If you're a Silver or even a Gold and never/rarely get upgraded, being able to "Buy-Up" (possibly at a discount over non-Elites) could be attractive. It might be the only chance to ever sit up front.

ijgordon

I can't for one second believe that CO will prioritize paid non-elite upgrades over EUAs.

I know AA has a similar program (search for "LFBU" - load-factor based upgrade on the AA board for more info) and they were pretty clear that upgrades would only be offered for sale if it was clear that all elites who requested an upgrade were accommodated.

EWRFlyerAL

I don't think that CO would take away EUAs. I wouldn't have an issue with them selling upgrades after all eligible elites were upgraded...but that would leave them with almost nothing to sell, so I don't think that would make sense. I hope this is just a rumor. I'll ask when I head to EWR tomorrow.

bocastephen

Thankfully your idea will never see the light of day. Worst case, we go to cert upgrades like UA.

If you want to buy up, you can do it right now - just go buy a B or Y fare and get upgraded on the spot.

rolov

Only if you can pre buy the landing at the self check in machine .

entropy

depending on how Larry instructs the program to run.... it could be harmless, or could really suck.

All we need is more competition for very limited seats....
I just got back from a trip on NWA, and I was 1/4 for upgrades, SFO-MSP-YYZ-F-DTW-SFO.
or <10% of the total flight time
NWA prioritizes NW/DL plats above CO plats (and then fare class) and I was #7 uncleared on super bowl sunday!

J.Edward

I think you have that option when you pre-purchase the drink coupons.

bocastephen

US gate agents have been 'prioritizing' paid upgrades ahead of Elites for some time now, whether or not it's an official policy - but no one can trust anything coming from US management, so who knows.

DL gate agents at ATL were caught doing the same thing - although it's likely quite rare, and DL has a buy-to-F program running for many years now.

rolov

they could have the old style coupons with a third option to choose from :
Valid for 1 premium beverage
Valid for 1 Headset
Valid for 1 Landing attempt on EWR 11/29

J.Edward

Hmmmm, I'd need at least three drinks and two attempts, just to be safe...and I think I've got a stash of unused elite coupons somewhere around here.