Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
Well, if having a superawesome FF program with loads of international F redemption options and benefits for FFers makes you money, please explain why out of AA, DL, CO, US and UA, none of them make a consistent profit, and the US airline that does is WN?
As far as I can tell, all available evidence indicates that FF programs with generous benefits (in the sense of how FTers see them) are (at least) fairly irrelevant in terms of long-term success of your airline as a going concern. So you can't really say to VX "you're doing it wrong"- at least not on that basis. (The fact remains that VX isn't making a profit, either.)
Perhaps the "international F" part isn't as important to most people as it is to me, but a marketable frequent flyer program *is* a part of every U.S. airline that has managed to survive. WN's program may not offer international F, but it does offer things business travelers may like, such as pre-boarding, companion passes, and awards that can be used to avoid expensive personal travel. VX's program really just seems to exist so it can say that it has a frequent flyer program, but no effort appears to have been made to provide anything that differentiates it from, say, getting that Capital One card that provides for "free" travel on any flight under $89.
Maybe VX can make this thing work on quality alone, but I have to say that the quality just isn't there for me. VX gets lots of things right - the staff have wonderful attitudes, and F is just amazing, but the uncomfortable coach seating and lack of value in the FF program really kill the deal for me. And I think that's unfortunate, because there really is a lot of potential in VX given the many things they have done right so far, and the general lack of a quality competitor.