David,

I understand you are very upset about the implementation of EUA. I also support you and your effort to deny CO the Freddie.

However, some of the statements you made are just not true. The worst thing you can do for your cause is to make factual misstatements.

You consistently state that Golds and Silvers are getting “Screwed”. Yet you also stated that you were on 4 flights recently that went out with empty seats in F/C. In these 4 cases, ALL Golds and Silvers would have been upgraded.

I personally do not agree with the statement that “Silvers and Golds blaming is a lie”. My problem with the call-in system was that if Revenue Management did not release F class seats before the Platinum window, snagging an upgrade was a crapshoot. The POSSIBILITY was always there that a Gold or Silver COULD obtain an upgrade before me. EUA has fixed that. Even if Revenue Management releases seats within the 3-day window, I still am in line before Silvers and Golds (Except those on Y tix).

I dispute that “We are powerless” when EUS misses us at a window. When I know that I am correct, I do not stop asking for supervisors until I am satisfied. If that means calling Houston and working my way up the ladder, then so be it. If EUA misses me, and there are F class seats available, I assure you, I will get the upgrade. This is a bug in the system that needs to be addressed.

I do not think it is fair to blame current management for Lorenzo era mistakes. I CALite was a disaster, but remember that was one of the first programs that Gordon scrapped. Was the “October Surprise” of two years ago done properly? NO, it was not. But, CO did make concessions that allowed members to retain their current level (IE: Top, Mid and Bottom) status for the upcoming year. CO would have been much better off if it had announced those levels at the end of 1998 as requalification levels for 2000.

I have no problem with the program being skewed to the upper spenders. That is what loyalty programs are all about.

You contradict yourself with the criticism of the lack of notice given by CO. First, you are upset about the fact that CO did not give the “Required” 60 days notice. Some would argue that CO did not change the benefits of the program, simply a mechanism for obtaining those benefits. Later, you expect CO to give One Year’s notice. In order for CO to take your campaign seriously, you need to be consistent and realistic. Should CO have given more notice on this change? YES, absolutely! Should Co have given a year’s notice? No, that is just not realistic. I think that CO should have announced the change now, for implementation at the start of the 2001 Elite Year in March.

I agree with you 100% that CO needs to stop blowing it own horn about winning Freddie’s and JD Power awards. When a company starts believing it’s own press, bad things start to happen to customer service. However, this statement: WHY CHANGE SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE LIKES AND THAT ISN'T BROKEN?????????? And your statement that “We have never asked for this” just do not hold any water.

David, you know that not everyone liked the old program. We had many “Taste Great/Less Filling” debates here on FT. I also challenge the statement that the old system was not broken. Forcing a member to stay up until midnight in order to increase the odds of obtaining an upgrade is a poor and broken system.

Instead of quoting each of your questions, I will simply give you my feedback on each one by number.

1) Yes, I agree that CO should have announced EUA before it was implemented.
2) CO has done an extremely POOR job of notification of this change in procedure.
3) I agree 100%. CO absolutely should have an advisory council of customers. I would suggest that this council include Travel Agents, Silver, Gold and Platinum Elites and Corporate Travel Managers.
4) I answered this above.
5) Again, I agree 100%. CO has done a @#!#$ poor job of implementing and setting up the EUA system.
6) Answered above.
7) Agree MORE THAN 100%. If Co should be denied the Freddie; it should be over the systematic distribution of elite status like candy. Not just Platinum, but Gold and Silver as well. Maybe at some point in it’s history, CO needed to attract Elite members from other programs. I would say that those days are gone. Just the fact that an elite from another airline asked CO for “Comped Elite” status for the express purpose of obtaining an International Upgrade is reason enough to discontinue “Comps”.

I am behind you in your campaign to deny CO the Freddie! I cannot stand the “30 Day Rule” nor can I condone the distribution of Elite Status like candy. I also think that EUA needs to be “Tweaked”.

How do we go about effecting change? By taking out as much emotion as possible from our arguments! When making a case for change, especially to a company that has a “Swelled Head” is by inserting as much logic as possible into the argument.

David, PLEASE do not take my comments as a personal attack. I value you as a friend and contributing member of the CO forum. It is my opinion that you are allowing your emotions to take control of this argument. In this case, I do not think that is the best course of action.