The CO* program was started by another group called CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Many of the "enhancements" that we have seen over the past few years are due to a focus on the most "profitable" customers, not simply the most frequent flyers.

For example, contrast a passenger who flies paid Business Class from IAH to NRT 4 times per year to a passenger who flies discounted Coach from IAH to PHX 20 times per year. The first passenger might spend $25K per year on CO, while the second passenger only spends $5K. CRM determines who is more valuable and treats them as such.

CO has installed a new, state of the art data warehouse along with CRM software to search for and keep track of its best customers.