Originally Posted by
spin88
This is what I totally hate. Its just so classless. Constant upsell, contantly changing prices for the upsell, this airline has no respect for those who have kept it in business and provide the constant load to make staying in business possible, and appears to not understand the long term impact of every communication asking for more money. Never a thank you, always a "buy miles, buy an upgrade, buy elite access, buy e+, buy it now or someone else will."
No major airline has ever been this out front about selling everything and doing so dynamically. If (as it appears they are not) many HVFers are gone and stay gone, it may be a cautionary tale to other airlines. [noting AA and DL have taken the opposite approach, and US says they will do as AA has done.]
I agree. Spin88, thanks for speaking the truth, and what you've said above are simply facts.
Some people keep saying things like "Its the new reality of the industry now" and it really isn't. DL and AA a totally different story.
This airline simply does not care about overall loyalty. CPU "if available" for 1K means if after every attempt we could not sell it, oh, and only if there's not a mileage kettle waiting for the seat. And by the way, they sent emails to my GM travel companion like crazy "Upgrade now with miles!" etc I mean, it's the priority that's ridiculous if anything.
The claim for UA in Q3 and Q4 was that the HFV's left because of bad operations in the Spring/Summer of 2012. If they haven't come back a year later, maybe they should consider other reasons as to why, such as diluting benefits and having an insane upgrade priority that values the occasional flyer who happens to redeem some miles over someone who flies 100-200K a year.