Originally Posted by
uwbrother
I am a Canadian who's spent a lot of time in the US and I've seen what happens when a society gets obsessed with getting the cheapest price possible at any cost. Screw the environment, labour rights, local economies, local manufacturing, service standard, quality ... as long as we get the cheapest price possible. That culture doesn't exist in Canada everywhere (which is why Canadians pay more for everything), but that culture does exist with airlines. As a result, airlines (rightfully or wrongfully) compete by providing the cheapest possible fare (sometimes scamming people by sneaking in "fuel surcharge" which is sometimes higher than the fare itself). I dont think reward programs are for bottom feeder, I think reward programs differentiate everyone else (aka: "attract them by giving them the cheapest possible fare") with people who deserve better (aka: "this guy has given us 1.6 million mile business, he deserves better").
Personally I wish AC provided good enough service where it could say "we're not the cheapest by price but we provide the best value for your money". We've all seen how Detroit automakers destoyed themselves by trying to compete on price alone, eventually building utter garbage while German automakers with worse unions did really well by focusing on quality. I wish there was an Apple of airlines, one that charged high margin but provided an experience where people happily paid that margin. I thought that's what the business class was designed to do. And I honestly thought reward programs (which are actually incredibly profitable for airlines) were also designed to do that. In that sence AC did fail for the OP.
I do agree with OP here, I wish AC focused on quality (if not for everyone then at least for proven loyal customers).
Actually I would disagree with parts of your argument. Canadians buy the same things that American buy (same brands, same crap manufactured in third world countries). We just pay a higher price because:
a) we have a smaller population than the US
b) our currency was weaker than the US dollar and as such the prices reflected that. it is no longer the case but prices still haven't trended down (similar to gas prices or that pesky YQ that tends to increase when price of crude goes up but doesn't fall nearly as fast when crude prices drop)
So we equally "screw the environment, labour rights, local economies, local manufacturing, service standard, quality". I mean all you have to do is look at tar sands, mining etc to see how we love to screw the environment, look at the City of Toronto to see what how much we love our labour rights, local economies, manufacturing etc does not really have a high priority on any agenda these days etc.
As for Air Canada, it does not provide the cheapest prices (if you are originating from Canada at least) far from it. They gouge domestic passengers (flying within Canada is very expensive). They also gouge international travelers (OP mentioned he actually pays less for his CX flights with better service in air, so better value proposition all together). They know they have a captive audience and take advantage of their (almost) monopolistic positioning in the Canadian market. Mix that with the policy makers favoring AC over the citizens of this wonderful country and you have even less of an incentive for them to treat customers properly. AC is in a position where a lot of people will fly with AC to support a Canadian airline (hoping their money stays in Canada) which then goes and spends the money elsewhere (even the pillows and blankets in J are made in China, makes one wonder why our national airline can't afford or won't bother to support the local economy)
so no AC is not the cheapest. it does offer convenient connections to a captive audience and has the policy makers of the country help in keeping competition at bay. it is an airline that does not really support the local economy but still enjoys preferential treatment due to its name/image. granted it has a great hard product compared to other north american airlines but it is probably going to loose that advantage in a few years if it doesn't keep innovating.