Originally Posted by
diver858
About 1 week ago, I received an email from Tilden, talking about his recent visit to my home base (San Diego), thanking me for my business. As a lowly MVPG, I assume hundreds if not thousands of other San Diegans received the same letter. After reading this thread, I decided to reply to the email, voice some of the concerns included above. Will report back on what if any response is received.
Received the following response today:
Dear XXXX,
Your email to Brad Tilden was forwarded to me for handling. Brad asked that I personally respond on his behalf. Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding our new saver fares and the effect you feel it has had on our main fares.
I checked with the Director of our Pricing Department and his response was we have rolled out competitive fares with what other airlines are doing and we are still fine tuning the process. He does appreciate your sharing your concerns.
XXXX, it is my hope that your future flights with us will reflect the high level of service you have come to expect when traveling with us. We value your patronage and look forward to welcoming you aboard another Alaska flight soon.
Sincerely,
Adora Becker
Customer Care Specialist
I responded with the following:
Thank you for the response, Adora.
From what I am reading in multiple online travel forums, some number of newly minted California-based elites feel alienated by the most recent changes. Will be interesting to see how many of us end up going back to Southwest, Delta and American, or simply become “free agents” – loyal to no one carrier. Should this occur, you should hope the Alaska Pricing Department fine tunes the process, does not squander the progress made on the West Coast.
As others have suggested in this thread, patience is in order. I would expect some reduction in the main cabin premium for shorter flights and lower loads, increases in longer flights, those with lots of elites, higher loads. For example, main fares to Hawaii (from SAN) are currently $45 more than saver, $20 between SAN-SJC and SAN-SMF.