Why, also would they want to run off us mixed fare flyers? If they screw me on my leisure trips, then why should I go out of my way (and often I have to with our corporate travel office) to fly them for biz? Answer - I won't!
I have never done a MR and never flown an LCC on domestic or TATL. I have flown LCC's a lot intra-Europe because most of the European carriers monkeyed around with their ff programs to screw leisure flyers. Now BA has swung back and treats all flyers fairly on earning miles (though not on YQ), so I have been doing more flying on them.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
Why would an airline want to keep a mileage runner out?
For one, I totally agree with you - they are statistically insignificant to the overall pool of elites. And second, a happy mileage runner could become an evangelist for your brand in a way that your typical business traveler never could. Somebody who loves United and/or MileagePlus enough to fly around in their planes for no other reason than to collect miles and status might also be someone who would tell others about the experience.
The fact that they collected more miles per dollar than the typical business traveler is a tiny cost to pay. After all, by the very method with which mileage runners seach for fare deals, they'll likely to end up on off-peak flights anyway. The airline isn't *losing* money on them. They're simply beneficial in a different way than the normal business traveler.
(For the record, I am not personally a mileage runner.)