Originally Posted by
mahasamatman
I disagree 100%. You're saying that anyone should be able to buy any ticket (like buying a dozen super-cheap fares from a city 2,000 miles away) with no intention of flying and get frequent flyer miles.
I see nothing wrong with it if the airline allows it, whether deliberately or accidentally. If the flight is oversold or has standbys, the airline is going to sell the same seat twice and collect money twice.
The logic that says I should not collect miles in that situation is similar to the logic of a hotel charging your credit card for a no show for the, and then when you show up at 9am to check in, the hotel saying they already gave your room away, but they are still charging your credit card, and you have to wait until 3pm to check in.
Originally Posted by
mahasamatman
Welcome to the frequent buyer program!
I know where you are going ... when transcons are selling for $125 or less each way, providing credit for not flying is effectively rewarding frequency of transactions. Simple solution: reward revenue whether the miles are flown or not (if not flown, recognize the reward after the credit expires). Elite qualification should be by revenue only, or if the airlines want, by either revenue or miles flown.
The fact that the airlines retreated in 2008 on the BIS versus 500 mile minimum for RDMs and EQMs is their de-facto recognition that elite qualification in M+ cannot ignore revenue component. I.e. those of us stung by UA's brief foray into a bad policy last year were providing the most revenue per mile to UA for the least return ... adding COS/DEN/COS to my round trips often doubles the cost of the fare.
On the other hand, I don't buy this argument that you're entitled to whatever you should have gotten had you flown, just because UA was able to sell the seat again.
There is contract and law, and there is ethics.
The airline crew's word is law of course. But it often isn't ethical.
E.g. I decided to buy two seats, I would insist that UA keep the extra seat empty. However, I can assure you on a full plane, the airline would try to seize that seat. And if the FA determined I was not a CoS, she would sieze that seat or invent a "load/re-balance" excuse that caused me to lose my extra seat. It would be up to me to seek a refund.
E.g. I purchase a premium fare, and am downgraded. It is up to me to seek a refund.
E.g. UA has a CoS policy. I've yet to see it enforced. UA's employees see nothing wrong with CoS overflowing into someone else's seat. The person who is forced to share his space has no recourse.
E.g. I've a cousin-in-law who once flew with her two kids, one an infant and bought three tickets. The FAs forced her to put one kid on her lap, and sold the seat to someone else. And the mother did not get any money back. (This was not UA.)
E.g. UX tried to force me allow the pax in the bulkhead row in front of to store her stuff under the seat she was sitting in, i.e. my designated carry on space.
All of the above are perfectly legal. None are ethical in my book.
Selling a seat twice is not ethical in my book either, but as you say, it is legal. If the airline awards FF RDMs and EQMs to the pax who isn't sitting there, I think that is a reasonable exchange.
The hotel (unless it is the Tulip Inn Rainbow Hotel Terminus in Oslo; apparently under new management 10 years after it shafted me) keeps my room empty from check in time to check out time if I guarantee space via deposit or credit card guarantee. The airline should be happy that it will burn less fuel because my fat butt and my bags aren't adding weight.
We have different ethics, and that is OK.