It's a tough call.

From CO's perspective they've got a strong product due to the fortress nature of their hubs. They're often the only non-stop game in town and can win customers on that basis alone and don't need to compete as much with FFPs as they've already got their prime O/D passengers.

CO's looking to generate revenue (just like everyone) and it's disappointing when they throw the elites under the bus to do that. Don't get me wrong, as a Plat I certainly believe that an elite on a $$$ Y ticket or higher fare class comes before me in the UG list. But at times it *seems* like CO is more than willing to turn their backs on the elites and fritter away F inventory with discount sales. Or charge Plats for same day confirmed fees. Or charge Plats for close in award ticketing.

Again I don't fault them for wanted to sell F (and I'd even argue the more F they sell the stronger they can make the product, which will in turn be beneficial for everyone) but I'm disappointed when the $ between Y and F is small as it seems like CO's easily willing to look away from their elites for couple of bucks.

Likewise if CO's willing to bank on upgrades being the sole differentiator of the top tier, they've got to understand that not all upgrades are equal. A plat who routinely clears AUS-IAH but then sits in the back on a longer flight won't see that much of a difference. Sure the % is up, but there's a miss-match between the value derived as not all upgrades are made the same.

IMHO what CO needs to do is bite the bullet and raise the Plat threshold. Gold is essentially going to be Plat (with award fees) and hopefully if they can refine the Plat pool, they can offer better benefits to the top tier.