<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by onedog:
By sticking firm to the "no waivers-no favors" mantra, that agent has probably cost AA much more in future revenue.</font>
As this and many, many other similar stories on all the Big Six boards painfully illustrate - the airlines are not concerned with your future revenue.
They need your
immediate revenue to stay alive. If they dissolve in 2003 due to insufficient revenue, what do they care if you would have spent $1 million in 2004? They won't be around to collect it.
Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran can afford to be generous. They know they will be around in 2004 and that by waiving a little revenue in 2003, they can secure that revenue for 2004.
If and when the Big Six stabilize to the point that they know they will be around twelve months from now, I imagine they will start lightening up on waivers-and-favors for their more "important" customers.