But if another casino down the street offers similar amenities AND offers the nickel slot players like myself, who visit as frequently as the high rollers, the Presidential Suite, caviar, champaign, etc., I'll take my penny ante L/U/T business there, where it's still appreciated.


The casino down the street was ... United. And it's going the way of the Sands, the Hacienda, the Dunes and the Landmark.

Personally, I HATE the DL Skymiles changes. But I can't argue against them with a straight face. Folks, we had a gravy train for a long time ... and now it's not running any more. That simple.

The *problem* with air travel in 2003 is not gonna be the big bad airlines, nor their management, nor their unions. It's gonna continue to be THE REST OF THE ECONOMY -- you, me and our employers.

After the dot-com collapse, every company I know of started chopping back their travel budgets.

After a while, the airlines started bleeding red. They suddenly had waaaaay too many cheapskates trying to hustle an upgrade out of a K ticket, next to nobody on M or A fares, and absolutely NOBODY paying full boat into BizElite or F any more.

Simply, the airlines HAD to respond. So some perks and bennies got trimmed: UA cut some of their lounges for low-rev frequent fliers, AA and others reduced F seating, everybody sliced back schedules and downgraded equipment.

But month after month, FTers kept ducking reality. I watched it through the last quarter of '01, and non-stop this year: One after another FT member posting the same 1990s whiny stuff, trying to blame AA or CO or DL. And flatly refusing to acknowledge that the customers -- or at least the customers' new buying habits -- were the real villian.

So I can't say that a rev-based qualification system surprises me. And truthfully, beyond all the bluster -- it's unlikely it startled many folks here, either. FT is full of educated, savvy people who understand business, and there's no way most of them could ignore the fact that a company can't keep bleeding money & continue without changes.

"But I'm a loyal customer" doesn't cut it in 2002 -- if you're paying K and expecting F, you're looking for WAAAAAY too big a freebie in this economy. And telling the airline that you'll be flying that way 50 times a year rather than 10 does not make you a more profitable customer - it just means you're trying to get the same goodies more often than a leisure flyer.

The genuinely profitable high-rev customers aren't gonna have a problem here -- they'll go on paying top-buck for what they want, and they'll continue getting it. Like a casino taking care of whales, DL will take care of them. There just ain't as many of 'em as there used to be.

As for the low- and medium-rollers trying to masquerade as if they belong in that league -- well, it might've worked in '99. But today ain't '99.

And long haul, I don't believe for a minute that "vote with your feet" is gonna happen. I see that same threat on every other major board here -- AA and CO included. Chapter 7 isn't out of the question for US or UA, so those customers may be going elsewhere whether they want to or not.

As for switching to the Pathmark-of-the-Skies
outfits ... well, let's see if that lasts into the second half of '03, let alone into '05. I've flown Southwest, folks, and ain't nobody gonna tell me it's a step up from DL (even back of the bus on a LUSer). And AirTran -- heehee, don't get me started. Might as well resurrect Trailways.

Bottom-bottom: I'd love to overturn DL's qualifying program, but a lot of hot air about "You're gonna regret this, Leo" is pointless. And transparently so.


[This message has been edited by Don (edited 12-18-2002).]