Originally Posted by
sbm12
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9630/4.7.1.40 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)
The "fee" that TAs receive these days is from the customer, not the airline. So while the GDS distribution costs the airline a bit the TA commission no longer does.
I also think that the 50% thing is vastly overstated on FT in terms of impact on the traveling public. Most folks barely care at all about the miles and the status. CO changed it because of UA and that's fine and some folks here will benefit, but I firmly believe that they were not losing business in a significant enough capacity with the policy in place for it to have been bad for them.
Given CO's status miles earning liberalization and the double status miles promotion, it's clear that CO management thinks that CO was losing or would lose business if not doing what CO has just done.
Based on what CO has announced this week, it's apparent that CO thinks that even marginally turning off customers -- or leaving customers turned off -- as before the status miles liberalization has cost or would cost CO business that CO can ill afford to lose this year or next year.