God forgive me for stirring up this little nest again but I had to respond to ALHCFP -
Several people at Delta - albeit in a social setting and off the record DID SAY that a recent study showed that Golds on an average spent more that Platinums. I'm sorry if you think that is ludicrous, but scince it seems to mostly be the Platinums that are crying over the L fare rule, it should seem obvious that they are not paying too very much for the tickets that they buy. And, again, I know many people who are Platinum due to making 5 stops on a trip from Boston to Atlanta, just to rack up the segment count.
This new system is really seems to be improving things. My flights all seem to be leaving on time for the most part and I'm sure that not having 20 people hanging around to see if they cleared stand by for an upgrade at the very last minute is a contributing factor.
Some of these people crying over this sound like welfare mothers pouting cause they are going to have to start going back to work and stop living off the rest of us. The only people that are truly owed a first class seat on any airline are the ones that paid for one. And NO, by flying X many miles or segments a year, you did not pay for a future upgrade. You got what you paid for when you took the original trip, the rest of it is just a bonus.
I keep hearing that the airlines may one day start tying their programs to how much you spend instead how many times you step on an airplane. Maybe that will settle this arguement over who is the better customer once and for all.