Actually, I think it's us as consumers that are completely responsible for the current degradation in service. Frequent flyer programs are in many ways similar to stock options (aka, golden handcuffs) that companies give to retain their employees. I know quite a few people sticking with their current employer to "cash out" and the same is true for frequent flyers. You have a choice of walking out (of the company and of the airline), but there's always a fear you're leaving money (or miles) on the table. You also have a choice of paying more for that first class ticket or buying that ticket on Midwest Express or just dealing with "poor" service and flying on the cheap. It's entirely up to you. Frequent flyer programs aren't bad at all. They do exactly what they were designed to and from a business perspective make tremendous sense.

mapboy