Originally Posted by
chornedsnorkack
If FF programs did not exist, someone would be waitlisted, someone would be assisted during irrops, someone would be in the front of the plane, someone would be in the front of the queue, and since there would still be some unsold seats in front of the plane, so someone would be upgraded.
I agree with someone being in the front of the queue but not much else. Back in the days before FF programs, they did take better care of more pax during irrops, but airfares were higher (in 2009 dollars). I suspect that if the airlines didn't track who their loyal customers were, they'd just save money and give everyone the same generally shabby treatment. (Yeah, we'll get you there. When we can. Get back in line. OK, you're booked to go out at 11 AM tomorrow. Now go away.)
And it would go back to the old system of paying to sit up front. If there were empty seats, so be it.