History trivia - when did the airlines start offering free UG??
Oct 19, 2014, 2:30 pm
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History trivia - when did the airlines start offering free UG??
I can not remember, do others???
I can remember some 10-12 years ago at least on Delta they did not offer free upgrades unless one purchased a Q fare or higher. I remember that because I did that once and only once as decided that up faring for the chance of an UG was not worth it.
Edit - I am specifically wondering about UGs when tied to FF status - even with coupons. No quite the free unlimited we have now but before that.
I can remember some 10-12 years ago at least on Delta they did not offer free upgrades unless one purchased a Q fare or higher. I remember that because I did that once and only once as decided that up faring for the chance of an UG was not worth it.
Edit - I am specifically wondering about UGs when tied to FF status - even with coupons. No quite the free unlimited we have now but before that.
Last edited by FlyingUnderTheRadar; Oct 20, 2014 at 7:49 am
Oct 19, 2014, 10:55 pm
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I can not remember, do others???
I can remember some 10-12 years ago at least on Delta they did not offer free upgrades unless one purchased a Q fare or higher. I remember that because I did that once and only once as decided that up faring for the chance of an UG was not worth it.
I can remember some 10-12 years ago at least on Delta they did not offer free upgrades unless one purchased a Q fare or higher. I remember that because I did that once and only once as decided that up faring for the chance of an UG was not worth it.
Oct 20, 2014, 1:44 am
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Oct 20, 2014, 6:31 am
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considering that frequent flyer programs really started in ~1981-1982, I respectfully suggest that these last ... while probably true ... are rather irrelevant to OP's question
Oct 20, 2014, 7:04 am
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Did you even know that there were/are DL SkyMiles million milers/"lifetime" complimentary annual elites who got to the status because of flights flown before 1981? There are, including from a program that existed in 1980.
Free, unlimited complimentary upgrades based on minimum level of annual credited flight miles to the airline's FFP -- which is not what the OP asked -- is a different story.
Last edited by GUWonder; Oct 20, 2014 at 7:13 am
Oct 20, 2014, 7:47 am
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You are correct I did not specifically state that - but that is what I am wondering about. No quite the free unlimited but more in general when tied FF status - even with coupons.
Oct 20, 2014, 7:54 am
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FFP elite status tracked by miles flown with that mileage-based-tracking giving rise to a mileage-formula fixed ratio of upgrade coupons? That has been around in the 1980s too. Segment-based tracking giving rise to upgrade coupons -- without regard to FFP elite status -- was around at least in the 1970s.
Oct 26, 2014, 2:05 pm
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While formal, documented and officially promoted frequent flyer programs date back to May 1981 (AA's AAdvantage soon followed by others) informal tracking of frequent flyers and perks such as upgrades and lounges existed well before that. My then father-in-law flew to Europe for business fairly frequently in the 1960s and was well known to Pan Am. They treated him very, very nicely.
Oct 26, 2014, 3:05 pm
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While formal, documented and officially promoted frequent flyer programs date back to May 1981 (AA's AAdvantage soon followed by others) informal tracking of frequent flyers and perks such as upgrades and lounges existed well before that. My then father-in-law flew to Europe for business fairly frequently in the 1960s and was well known to Pan Am. They treated him very, very nicely.
In fact, the first airline frequent flier program was launched by Frank Lorenzo's Texas International Airlines in 1979 (subsequently merged into Continental Airlines in 1982), but it gained little traction and has been largely forgotten about.
Last edited by GUWonder; Oct 26, 2014 at 3:15 pm