Originally Posted by
sethb
To whichever airline has the lowest fare and best schedule for what I want.
I already pointed out how Delta got several hundred dollars in revenue due to my belief that Delta status was worth something (that is, Delta purchasing loyalty). Had Delta been acting the ways you propose, it would have lost that revenue, and probably a few thousand more on other flights I'll be taking later this year where there's lots of competition.
Once loyalty is lost, it is much harder to regain it than it would have been to keep it. But those who can't see past the next quarter never seem to realize that.
When you can get a Kettle party of 2 paying $50 for two bags, $58 for 2 economy comfort seats, and $30 for two meals and cocktails, "hundreds of dollars in revenue" pails by comparison, when they can get this every flight multiplied by dozens. Those seeing past next quarter see this......ESPECIALLY when there are only 3 airlines. You run to UA...one of their guys runs to DL because of the cheapest fare. You are all paying fees. Airlines Win.