Originally Posted by
BenA
My first proposal, to kick off the discussion: Modify the SWUs using one or more of the below restrictions to create new ways to redeem mileage on BE upgrades:
- Only allow redemption on day of departure for fare classes lower than Y/B/M - you could even keep a waitlist and hold off until the last second at the gate to confirm upgrades
- Require a copay with miles for redemption in tiers lower than Y/B/M in addition to an SWU.
- Allow mileage upgrades on fares lower than Y/B/M for a very high redemption rate, without needing an SWU (honestly, I'd personally even be OK with this rate being 75%-100% of the full BE award ticket redemption value - remember, for me the issue isn't the number of miles needed or availability, it's the lack of MQM earning on awards)
...
Before I address specific proposals let me make a couple of statements:
- PMUs were designed to bring more revenue to DL, and not to reward PMs & DMs
- Ideally any suggestion should bring DL revenue or at least be revenue neutral. Hence, it is essential to not cut the J & I-fare revenue in any way.
- DM is not competitive with 100k+ products from UA/CO/AA. Having the same PMUs for both PM and DM makes no sense to me!
- TATL & TPAC M-fares from the USA are outrageous! BTW, they are quite reasonable from Europe...
- INT PMU+M-fares are especially a sore issue with 100k+ BIS fliers who can switch to UA/CO/AA for real SWUs. IMHO, they encourages non-hub-captive heavy fliers to purchase INT flights on UA/AA/CO for some, if not all their travel.
I like some of the proposals here, especially GBadger's "
more SWUs on lower fares" and bennos' "
co-pay system". IMHO, DL should:
- Provide a limited number of real SWUs to DMs (I suggest 6 but would be happy with 4). Alternatively, on the day of departure DMs can use existing PMUs on K+ fares while PMs would only qualify on M+ fares. This would encourage PMs to fly more and become DMs. Of course the extra fare $, extra flying and MRs would bring additional revenue. It would also make DM competitive with 1k & ExP.
- To avoid competing with J and I fares, real SWUs would have to be redeemed far in advance, e.g., 90 days. That way they would be mostly used by leisure travelers who normally purchase sLUT fares. A few I and J-fares may be lost by DL, but if these leisure travelers have to purchase K+ fares or make a co-payment, I think this would be roughly revenue neutral.