Originally Posted by
fastair
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2317...ipt?part=qanda From the 3rd 1/4 conference call.
"Jenna Moreno – Houston Chronicle
How does holiday travel look right now and fares?
Jeff Smisek
We are seeing strong demand in holidays this year and we are enthused by the demand we are seeing.
Jim Compton
This is Jim. I would add to that. The bookings are strong (inaudible)
I would actually say there is less sale activity this year versus last year. So given the strong demand we see, it looks like, at this point a very good holiday period."
Bolding added by myself. With strong demand, why subsidize costly perks, unless the competition does so in order to maintain share. I would assume that strong demand is not unique to UA, but rather systemic of the industry.
Again, elites are not about today. They are about future bookings, over the next several years. How much the economy has cost in terms of frequent fliers, how that translates into projected revenue next year and beyond. They have to know they are losing lots of 1Ks this year. How will that reflect on loyalty, and revenue, in 2011, 2012? Can they afford to lose that loyalty, when they don't offer a product that by itself attracts high revenue customers?