I'm surprised no one has posted about the fact that the web site "upgrade" from last summer also included a devastating, no-notice, sneak devaluation of Ufly Rewards redemptions. Of course SY took a page from the legacies in spinning "enhancements" to the program along with the web site. In reality, they eliminated any variance in redemption levels and instead made all redemptions a flat 1 CPM rebate off the prevailing fare.

Previously, award levels were influenced by seasonal or other demand factors and I was routinely able to get 2-3 CPM out of it. There were also several cases where F was actually cheaper than Y, even if the same wasn't true for paid fares. SY sent me a survey a few weeks back about a possible mobile app, and included a section for open-ended feedback. I took the opportunity to call out the lack of notice for the Ufly changes as not just counter to industry best practice, but immoral and counterproductive for a company that wants to compete against DL as "Minnesota's hometown airline." But clearly they're banking on leisure travelers and self-paying biz flyers not caring and don't see any need to compete with the major FFPs.

Overall, SY is still a good opportunistic choice if their wildly varying frequencies happen to align with one's schedule. I'll be flying them to LAS next week. As usual, I bought up to Exit Row seating at booking, which happens to include priority check-in and boarding. For longer routes like LAX or SFO, holding out for the $119 F upgrade remains a good value prop.

Finally, I'd be interested in any reports on the weekly, seasonal MSP-STS route that starts in August. Very thin schedule, but very unique opportunity. Possibly the longest scheduled route to STS since deregulation?