Arpey & Co. apparently look at the AAdvantage frequent flier program as a historical promotional item that was useful for American Airlines as a competitive advantage in the aftermath of airline industry deregulation but may now have outlived its "usefulness". Arpey is even writing much the same to his flying customers in American Way. He seems to think that AAdvantage is no longer a "competitive advantage" that distinguishes American Airlines and perhaps that is why he appointed a bean counter to gut the program since it is no longer "needed" to compete. Perhaps he is mistaken, perhaps he is not.

Your thoughts?