Originally Posted by
magiciansampras
Interesting.. in the firms I've worked for most employees flew based on convenience and times, not on FF programs.
Which begs the question: is UA the most convenient, best-timed carrier for your travels, or have you acquired 1K status by introducing flexibility to your scheduling process?
Originally Posted by
magiciansampras
IME a lot of business travelers are racking up FF miles on flights they would be taking anyway. !-)
A lot? Probably like 100%. Business mileage runs aren't all that common...
To focus on the main point, I can only use my group of acquaintances. My friends that don't fly regularly care nothing for status or mileage programs.
Those that do fly more than once or twice a year care a great deal. I guess you could call them "Kettles", as they largely have no status. But the Kettles I know are using miles to get to Hawaii for their honeymoons, play poker down in Vegas, or travel back to our alma mater once Big East basketball starts back up.
So you say the ratio of travelers that care to those that do not is 40:60. I'll concede that.
However, those in the 40% group fly
way more than those in the 60% group. At least in this sample, the 40% that care about miles are doing 90% of the travel, and would be furious if mileage programs disappeared and airlines competed solely on price.