Originally Posted by
ahappyelite
I'm surprised, or maybe not, with the heavy handed and dismissive way that self appointed road warriors dismiss the comments of other fliers. (Few people here will have flown as much as I have, though they certainly blog a lot more than I.)
If its ok with you that SQ mantains that practice, fine, though I think it odd anyone would defend it on a FF website.
As to the idea that they clearly state they do not award miles, that is not true. They have a chart with x's and checks and if you are not careful you could book without realizing you've been taken. They do not say explicitly NO FREQUENT FLIER POINTS ARE AWARDED FOR THIS.
As to the commentator who says people will fly an airline if the fare drops, I say: "Not true." Personally when I find a company is dishonest, I don't fly them (as a lesiure traveller, I NEVER need to go anywhere at any time.) And by the way, for all the airlines, its obvious that they are offering these fares because their flights are EMPTY, so spending a few dollars to give FF points wouldn't be a bad idea.
It's not
just SQ who has introduced this practice. As mentioned before lots of Asian carriers and AC as well as LH and others do it. This has value for the
typical non frequent traveler who only cares about getting from point A to point B the cheapest way possible. The bulk of fliers these days are comprised of these people who would gladly forgo mileage for some $ saved.
I understand this came as a shock to you since I assume you've been flying on US airlines like UA, but this is an industry wide initiative and you will soon be seeing the same practice in the US as well when the market demands it.
SQ is far from perfect, but if you consider SQ dishonest for providing these fares which are clearly indicated in a chart and also in the fare basis you must start keeping a long list of airlines: LH, AC, SQ, TG, LX, SK and more that I can't think of right now.
You seriously find this chart hard to understand:
