Originally Posted by
rumboj
Actually, gutting the FFP is wise if you expect your clientele to fall in line, which is what the others do and succeed it. So many flyers have been complaining for years but they are still flying AA. And for every flyer who is complaining and saying they are going to Delta, there’s a Delta flyer who is complaining and threatening to go to UA, while UA has a flyer planning to move to AA.
At the end of the day, AA doesn’t see as much value in its FFP providing more as it does in providing less. It is a hard sell when your competitors are providing much less than you are. Eventually, everyone will get used to it and suck it up when they realize they cannot just move to another carrier and use a feature similar to AA’s SWU and go Y to J, for example.
I disagree. UA saw this exact thing happen under SMI/J post merger. Their IT was a disaster, operations were a disaster, and HV customers got frustrated and bailed. I'm not a crazy high value spender, but I walked from CO post merger and never looked back.
Yes, there are FTers who like histrionics and threaten to leave, but most High Value flyers aren't aviation enthusiasts. If the operations are a problem (flights canceled, bags lost), the product gets cheapened (no bag space under F seats, no legroom) and then the FF program gets gutted, then people who aren't tied into the programs or FT and the ilk will walk.