Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
The problem for AS is that you'll notice that UA/DL won't give you spend credit towards elite qualification for anything that's not on their tickets.
This is a problem for an airline which is highly dependent on partner relationships like AS; you can't put a SEA-LHR BA flight or LAX-HKG CX flight on an AS ticket (unless it's an award). Feel free to plug SEA-LHR into alaskaair.com and see what the message the site gives you...
Going to a revenue model would seriously impact AS's ability to accept partners as equals...
AS already mediates the "partner problem" by requiring a higher number of miles/legs to attain status flying a combo of AS+partners than just AS alone.
Regarding the revenue model, I am sure AS knows exactly how many $$$ the average elite spends with AS. If the average spend does not cover the elite benefits, AS can always devalue the benefits and not touch the revenue side.