Originally Posted by
Exleftseat
In the Airline business of today there will never be any positive changes for the customer.
A positive for a customer means a negative for the airlines. "Give" costs money, "Take"
increases profit. On top of it, if the customers have few choices, then what incentive
does an airline have to "play nice". That's just the way it is in 2017.
I understand the realities of what you say. I am sure that no airline plans to roll services and privileges back to what they were 5, 10, or 15 years ago.
However, as the current and continuing list of customer service challenges at every airline continue to get generate bad news, perhaps some airline executive will get the brilliant idea that rewarding loyalty might generate some financial benefit in the long run! They might "reinvent" some of the tried and true frequent flyer program practices of the past.
Some things, like a flight attendant or a desk agent recognizing frequent flyers, offering a drink now and then, occasionally offering a free upgrade, etc. don't cost a lot, but go a long way to make frequent customers feel better - especially when pitch, seat size, cup size, etc. - seem to be shrinking.
At lest this is my hope.