Maybe I'm misunderstanding some of the answers, but I thought a "soft landing" meant not dropping immediately to base status (as in some programs) but rather to one tier down?

If the latter, you certainly do get a soft landing with Skywards:

What happens if I do not fly the required number of miles to retain my tier status?

If you fail to earn sufficient tier Miles to retain your current tier status you will be downgraded one tier, for example, from Skywards Gold to Skywards Silver.