Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
Citing the ability to get FF tickets to Cameroon, of all places, hardly strengthens the argument that "many business travelers" would do best to avoid WN.
1) I was giving one example of one rare possibility (that happens to apply to me) among many many different ways people might get $2000 value back from AA after $2000 spent. For many it would be the value of upgrading/redeeming premium cabins internationally. For others it would be the value of the last minute trips to small airports they need. Etc. I really am not trying to tell people to avoid WN.
Originally Posted by
wanaflyforless
My personal situation is very unique and the equation should be different for everyone, depending what expensive places you want/need to go that FF could replace $$$$ expenditure for.
2) The only carrier I wish flyers would avoid is US Airways. I do not think WN is the best choice as the
primary carrier for most business traveler
very frequent flyers unless they regularly must change their travel dates or fly mostly short flights or truly have no use for FF miles or need the airports/routes where WN is dominant, etc. Also, when I say frequent flyer in this context, I mean very frequent flyer: those who fly enough that they would be top tier on a legacy FF program like AA or UA (where the real benefits are). For those not familar, AA and UA top tier includes free international upgrades from cheap fares, lots of value for those who wants to go far away in comfort on a budget. The other legacy FF programs are weak compared to AA and UA for the very frequent flyer.
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
Wonder how those business travelers who were scheduled to take UA yesterday from/to/through ORD feel about things?
Truly a bad situation. As a very frequent flyer, I have yet to be caught in one of these meltdowns, but yes, it could happen. Worst case scenario would be buying a last minute ticket on another airline (AA) if I really had to be somewhere and it looked like things were not going anywhere fast with UA.