So THATS what I/O looks like

Travelled out to BKK on Monday, and got my seemingly customary upgrade from Biz to First, and the chap assigned to 1A was made a bit of a fuss over.
He was of course welcomed on board, and told that on arrival someone would be there to welcome him at the door, and assist him with his bags etc.
Only on getting off did I spot the black luggage tag, with ared streak across it, one of the coveted Invitation only tags, as I commented to the purser.

Me want.

Probably VP of Purchasing for an International Company!
BA used to give them out if your company spent zillions per annum.
A Scottish Bank (there were only two, so take your pick) had three-one for the Chairman,one for the MD and one for the Facilities Director.

BA still have a Premier tier which, as Silverswimmer implies, is targeted at those controlling/influencing travel spend rather than necessarily those who fly a lot.

There are a couple of Prems on the BA board here on FT.

All nominations signed off by the BA board ... the real one, not the FT one

Why are they always black cards ? EK, BA. Amex, ...

Yep thats the way it works for an I/O at majority of the Airports that EK calls. I would still say that the service is not 100% consistent. I would say that some outstations under do it & some over do it. Its not like a kind of a sure shot thing however Up In the Air your R an I/O always.

Safe Flying

EGT

@ELITEGOLDTRAVELLER

Standing at around 180T Tier Miles current and two additional F Flights scheduled this year, getting another 85.000 Miles.
What you think how are the chances to reach I/O Status? (Joined 2008 Skywards and the last three years always gold with 100.000+ Miles p.a)

Also booked at the inaugural flight of the A380 from MUC-DXB on 25. November in F. So might get the chance to speak to the SVP of North Europe/ Germany Mr. Greiner and other representatives. Unfortunately only spending on my private expenses and not responsible for spending companies money at emirates.
How are the chances with 260.000 Tier Miles this year? Who is responsible for a I/O invitation, Brian Labelle / Skywards? Regional Manager? or Dubai CEO?

The criteria for I/O is a closely held formula. Like many other uber elite, invite only programs, selection is not always as a result of personal F/J revenue, but by how much influence you hold over a company's spend.

There was rumour running around that entry into I/O required 50 X F sectors and invitation was solely made by Tim Clarke's office. Not sure if that still holds true. You would assume that the first 250 were CEO, CIO, CFO etc level and people in the inner circle of the DXB corporate crowd...

There was also discussion mid-year that Skywards was looking to expand the I/O program, once it saw how the pilot rollout went and how they could ensure consistency of benefits globally.

I'm not sure total tier miles will be enough...

iO membership is controlled by Skywards, and is based on a variety of factors including class of travel, spend etc but it is clearly very revenue driven. It will expand with time, so it is also a matter of waiting it out, though I think that 200k including F bonuses is probably not enough right now.

@Elitegoldtraveller

I have always wonders how the skywards website looks like when you
Log in as an I/O member?Does the background become black? When you are moved on from gold status to I/O?

If you are just a mortal, then 500,000 and you are in the club!

Just as well I have have my own Black Range Rover and driver then as my 150,000 or so per year will not cut it ... at least I can smoke in my one though, so I would probably never want to use the IO ones even if I could!

Thanks as ever for your insights from the inside.

Let's put it in the right words, I think it is revenue driven both on a corporate level and on an individual level.

If you think about the regional heads of the investment banks or the big loca family conglomerates, there is a possibility that they have very low tier miles because they use your their corporate jets. Yet, they would be iO because they assert a huge influence on the travel policy of their employees

But do they still offer it if you have 500000 tier miles a year?. I will never reach that but was just nosey

Yes of course, I was a bit strict in my wording, it should be probably both individual or corporate level. I will change my post. Thanks!

Is there actually any real benefit to I/O beyond what a Gold in F would get? Sure, you'll be at the front of the line when things go wrong, but apart from that, the description of the I/O at the top of this thread is a joke.

Do I want to be made a fuss of when I board, talked to etc? No. Do I want to be greeted off the plane and escorted? No, not really because walking through DXB transfers is pretty straightforward.