Originally Posted by
aa4ever
Continental doesn't care about losing some (most likely very few) people who are trying to just make it to elite status/award trips on a budget. Not only are these the consistently least profitable customers per ticket, if their load factors are high enough, they'll just replace these passengers with other passengers. In fact, CO would be better off replacing an elite flyer buying cheap tickets with a non-elite flyer buying the same ticket (since there are no elite benefits to pay for). FF systems only work if people will actually pay a premium; when supply nearly equals demand, FF systems become unimportant (from the flying perspective, not the selling miles perspective). Not trying to be harsh or arrogant, but ultimately it's true.
Maybe my business travel is different, but since I seem to book all my travel 3-10 days prior to the trip (10 is really really pushing it), I pay a higher cost than the average budget consumer. I'm assuming that I pay a higher cost since I doubt the average family of four is paying $1500 for a ticket to Memphis or Chattanooga. Of course my cost for bigger cities is less, but I'm still sure that given the times I travel (peak business times) and the lack of preparation (i.e. 21 days in advance or something like someone planning a vacation), I'm sure I pay the higher than average fare. Given that most of the business travelers in my industry sit in the same boat, I feel that we should be rewarded with FF systems- we are paying the premium. In fact, I read somewhere that as the seat price/mile increases, it's the business traveler who picks up the greater majority of the cost. CO and all the other airlines depend on us 100K+ flyers, and they should reward us for our loyalty.
Like I said before, since I live in central Texas and I have a choice as to the hub I fly to, I will continue to fly AA. At least they provide me with 1000 miles Aus-DFW- even if the mofos won't open up my Toronto seat for an eVIP!