I read that article yesterday.

The article paints a picture of the Ryanair model becoming the dominant one in the skies - not a niche airline like Spirit doing it alone. I honestly don't think we'll get quite that far - not into some of the rather meanspirited fees like charging to reprint a boarding pass or charging to use all forms of payment besides one obscure form.

But in terms of the fee culture, that already is the dominant model with 4 of our 5 largest carriers doing it that way. Figure they will keep tightening the screws little by little - free soft drinks may eventually go away, as may all free preassigned seats.

I think the biggest difference is that the big players seem to be moving to the 50,000 mile level as their first "real" elite tier. The 25,000 mile level is quasi-elite and may continue to get pulled into more and more fees over time.

The article kind of hinted at that without being specific. They used the term "super-elite", which we tend to think as 1K/EXP. (I'm guessing the article wasn't addressing things like Concierge Key and Global Services.) By 2022, you may need to at the 100,000 mile tier to receive humane treatment.