Don't put too much on Gordo, he is still straddling the fence on this one. The fact that tix booked on CO.com still will qualify for full EQM all of next year (originally it was only until July if memory serves me correctly) shows IMHO that Gordo is still hedging his bets.

He chose a big smooch up to (now departing) Uncle Leo. Uncle Richie ruined the CO/NW/DL party by keeping their system essentially the same.

As for UA, remember some genius (I wouldn't be surprised if Tilden signed off on this one) listened to a McKinsey weenie at the end of '02 when they advised UA it would be a great idea to stick it to the 1K's with H+ fare SWU's. i.e. Turn 'em into a revenue generator as opposed to a reward.

While these new SWU's are not as odious as the trash that DL pushes on their own PM's, this was definitely a move towards Leo-ville.

But *Surprise*, marketing data (probably - this is my and alot of other's guess) showed that UA 1K folks were leaving for AA by 2Q. Hence, we all received Chrissy Everett and her Sweet Spots in our mailboxs by June/July in what must be one of the weakest covers for a "We're Sorry" campaign ever.

UA figured out that it needed to keep it's program essentially the same, it was not a situation of being 'able' to. If anything, Don Carty made sure MP was not going to become SkyPiles.

[This message has been edited by CoMooter (edited Dec 10, 2003).]