Originally Posted by
1KPath
While I have a lot of sympathy with those pmUA flyers who lost promised benefits, I have pretty much stayed out of this conversation...because as 3.9MMer..."I really don't have a dog in this fight"...but, believe me, I feel for y'all!
That being said, this morning I received a call from a major market research organization asking me to participate in a 4-5 hour focus group (at a hotel where they will serve dinner) concerning lifetime status on airlines...offering the largest compensation I have ever been offered for a focus group ($1400) Specifically, the screener asked if I possessed lifetime status on UA, AA, DL or US (yes to two)...if I was concerned with the future of FF programs and promised "lifetime status" (yes!)...if I was aware of the AA/US and UA/CO mergers (yes!)...and finally if I was aware of any current litigation between FFs and their airlines concerning promised benefits (yes!)
Mrs. 1KPath (a law school professor and dean) thinks that this may have been organized by one of the law firms involved in the UA MM class action case to test the FF "waters" before they proceed...most likely UA's law firm...or, it may have been initiated by one of UA's competitors (AA or DL) to see what kind of reaction there would be if they "changed or diminished" lifetime benefits!
All I can say, it will be interesting!
Thank you for this. You'll no doubt be bound, but please relate as much as you can to us, even if it's just that the initiative is going forward, if that's possible.
And my money would be on AA. The timing would be right. They've shown they want to compete on this issue (e.g., the status match at the top). They're doing a lot of other things to prepare for the merger. As I remember, DL initiated the MM concept. That and because of a lot of other things I've seen throughout their merger, I don't think they're looking to renege. And we've caught Mr. Smisek's and his CFO's act.