Whatever one thinks of the Freddies, one had simply to look at how proud the various carriers were, if they did well. In addition to trumpeting those successes in ads, etc. they also very actively encouraged voter participation on their own proprietary websites. That’s credibility. In a perverse sort of way, dropping them may be the sincerest form of tribute to their namesake. Always a straight shooter, who tried to build an airline that did what it said it would, Laker stands in stark contrast to today's carriers, who, in recent years have gone out of their way to back track on many of the basic tenets which underpinned what had become euphemistically known as loyalty programs. Well done, Freddie. As it turned out, this new bunch was never in your league.