IanFromHKG

An interesting proposition, and I have tried quite hard to look at it from both sides of the coin as a passenger - both as a potential bidder, and as a loyal FF who normally expects to fly in the cabin I pay for (whether I pay using cash or miles). Unsurprisingly there are slightly different responses in respect of certain aspects of this depending which way I look at it. Here are my responses:

Has anyone had experience of this on other carriers?
I have not, although I have been offered fixed-price upgrades on BA flights. I took one of these once, for an onward connection flight, in the mistaken belief it would give me access to an arrival lounge on LHR. I seriously considered it on another occasion (a family trip LHR-ATH, one of the longest flights served by their short-haul fleets at the time) but ultimately decided not to since we already had lounge access and good seats with extra legroom, so there wasn't enough of an "upgrade" involved even though the cost - GBP69 each - was fairly modest for a 3.5-hour flight

Would such a proposition be of interest?

Well, here is where my opinions are split. As you can read below, I don't support the idea. However, if it existed, would I use it? Well, I might. But to be honest, if the class of travel was important to me (and on long-haul - where the Memsahib and I invariably fly business class - it is important) then I would book it up-front. So chances are that apart from a possible speculative upgrade to F on long-haul or on a short-haul flight where it would be a nice bonus, I probably wouldn't

Should Marco Polo Club or Asia Miles members be differentiated from other passengers in the bidding process?
I woul hope so, since otherwise this seems to be a lose-lose situation for loyal frequent flyers

Does the proposed timing for the bidding work?
Well, I suppose so, but see the broader commentary below

More general thoughts

First, some background. I am a few days shy of being a Marco Polo member for 21 years. I just hit two million Club miles. For all but one of the past 15+ years I have been Diamond. I have not had an op-up on long-haul for six years or more. Until last year I had not had any op-up of any kind for more than five years (not sure whether I am the unluckiest DM In the programme! - I got so paranoid I even asked if CX had something in their system saying I was unsuitable for upgrades!). So I have zero expectation when it comes to op-ups, and I pay for what I want, whether that is with cash or miles.

However, one area where I do believe I benefit currently as a DM is the availability of last minute redemption tickets (be they upgrades or full redemptions) and I can foresee that the availability of these will become even more limited (and possibly non-existent) if this system is introduced - and frankly, this is one of the last great (unwritten) perks of being a DM.

[You can skip the next section, a status benefits comparison, if you want to jump to my conclusion]

After all, what are the other differences between being a GM and DM? The significant differences are:
1. F lounges on CX flights. I love them, but I can live with a J lounge. Many outstations only have J lounges anyway
2. J lounges on non-OW flights. Well, if I'm long-haul I will be in business class and have lounge access anyway. If it is short-haul, I have Priority Pass
3. Two guests in lounges rather than one. Well, the Memsahib is a GM anyway so with two children, if I downgraded to GM we would still be covered
4. Extra baggage on CX. 5kg more than a GM. No big deal
5. Extra baggage on OW. Yes, this is handy, but for long-haul our main other airline is BA, whose J allowance vastly exceeds that of a DM on CX anyway. For short-haul we can afford the extra bag charge on the rare occasions we need it
6. Fast track on OW in some countries. Well, if it's long-haul then we will be in business class anyway. I have Global Entry (for the US), I'm a British citizen (UK and EEA) and I have an APEC Business Travel Card (most APEC countries) so although these are specific to my own situation, the fast track availability isn't that valuable to me
7. First class check-in: yes, definitely a perk. But with on-line check-in, bag drop and mobile boarding passes, I think I could survive as a GM with business class check-in
8. Guaranteed seats in J and PEY: I have only ever once had to rely on this for a J seat, have never used it for PEY, and the one time I used it for Y then the 72-hour availability as a GM would have been sufficient

So, all in all, without the high availabiity of redemption tickets, which is very very valuable to us, there isn't much else that would make me try so hard to retain my Diamond membership - and that would mean plenty of revenue (most of which is personal, so I have complete discretion as to where it goes) going to other airlines

So what is my overall conclusion? Bad, bad, bad idea. I don't really care about losing the op-ups since I never count on them and hardly ever get them. What I DO care about are availability of redemptions, and I can see this idea killing that off. If that happens, I would really question whether it is worth me maintaining my DM, which takes some effort and expense on my part. Instead, I am more likely to split my allegiance, get just enough to be a GM and use the rest to get some status in another alliance, or simply to get better seats or cheaper flights on other airlines

I also agree with other comments here, that this could devalue the brand. I have made similar comments on another forum regarding BA, who are constantly discounting, offering paid upgrades, offering one-way upgrades to F on a J ticket, and so forth. It all starts to smack of desperation, really.

CX have worked hard to build a reputation as a premium airline. Their in-cabin innovations have made them a recognised leader in the field, especially for long-haul J. They are clearly trying to go even further up-market by developing yet newer seats for the A350 despite the current long-haul J offering being one of the best in the sky. I can see no way in which this proposal would enhance the brand, and all sorts of ways in which it would cause the brand to be devalued. So even though I could see myself occasionally bidding as a passenger, overall I have to oppose the idea, and strongly. I really do think this would cause me to change my longstanding loyalty to CX