Originally Posted by
BlueHorseShoe2000
You raise some interesting and valid points, but I would argue that not all 1ks are created equally.
Take someone like me. The primary reason I've had 1k status with United all of these years is due to long-haul international travel. With this type of flying you can quickly achieve 1k status, especially if you know how to work the system to your advantage. Once you hit the current thresholds for status (100k miles or 60 segments per year) any added flying doesn't really give you much besides more miles and a possible first class seat (United has one higher level of elite status-Global Services-which is by invitation only). This gives me flexibility to throw some business to another airline. In the past, this has normally been Midwest for me. Why? For starters, I really enjoyed flying Midwest. But there were more practical reasons as well. With the state of the airline industry, the on-going viability of many carriers has been in question. Therefore, it made sense to at least establish a base level of flying with another airline in case I had to make a sudden switch (Midwest had relationships with American, Northwest, and Delta so having to move to one of these carriers if United folded would not have been an issue).
Very good points. You're right that many frequent flyers don't amass everything in one program, and even if it may be hard for Frontier to be top dog for someone with your type of travel profile, many might still fly a lot on one or more other carriers. Perhaps domestic travel is easier to take from the big carriers because those flights earn fewer miles...easier to convince a 1K in Denver to fly Frontier instead of UA to SAN than convincing them to fly Delta instead of UA to NRT. Too many miles to lose.
Originally Posted by
BlueHorseShoe2000
With Frontier, I do think there are some opportunities for them to poach elite customers from the competition. While they don't have to offer all of the benefits and perks that an airline like United might but there are things they can do. Earlier this year, I asked Frontier for a status match. It took an eternity for them to get back to me. When they finally did, they only offered their lowest elite level. That wasn't appealing at all. What they could have done was allow me to do a status challenge. They could grant me provisional top-tier status as long as I completed, say six round trips, in a three month period. If I didn't compete all of the flying, elite status would be revoked. It's a fairly simple thing to do and a good way to weed out less loyal travelers.
That's a very good idea...allowing people a fairly easy way to switch airlines but not have to be non-elite for awhile while building status at the new airline.
Originally Posted by
BlueHorseShoe2000
I get that United and Frontier are two completely different airlines and the treatment of their best customers does, and should, vary significantly. Frontier has done a lot for its elites this year (Free checked baggage, TV, alcohol, etc.). Yet, I think they could do some more things for their better customers.
I agree, and hope that when the integration dust settles they add attention to putting more edge on their product offering. I'm sure there's a ton of work to integrate all the products and programs of two carriers, and working through this in a reasonably fast and non-customer-alienating way is top priority. Very understandable. But when that groundwork is laid, I hope they go back and re-examine their work to find ways to further improve programs, not just combine them.
Thanks again for all the discusson on this...interesting stuff to think about!