Here is a lesson in Marketing:
Airline Mileage Programs were created because they were an ingenius way to create brand loyalty in a market where the product is essentially the same from all of the competitors. Otherwise the ONLY incentive for the consumer would be to buy the least expensive or most convenient.
Mileage Reward programs cost very little to run because they utilize seats on planes that would otherwise go empty (for the most part). Only a fraction of the miles are ever redeemed.
Airlines have quickly learned that loyal customers are their best customers. I can't tell you how many times I have flown on American Airlines because I wanted the Aadvantage miles even if the schedule was less convenient or the rate slightly higher than competitors. Most business travelers are not that price sensitive, they care more about upgrades and personal mileage.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by KCFORREAL:
Note - only playing the Devil's advocate role here because I'd like to see if anyone has good ideas about how to change the current program for the better. I posted most of this in another thread ...
I agree with the last 2 opinions - I used to fly CO and scrambled for upgrades but when I found out that Midwest flew non-stop instead of a connection like CO did to Reagan, I tried them and won't ever go back except to destinations Midwest doesn't serve. They may be more expensive, but I'm not chasing upgradeable fares, worrying about elites ahead of me on the waitlist, etc - and the seat room is terrific. Another thing - I don't miss that Pavlovian response I used to get when I got an upgrade - the airlines call it a 'reward' but it began to feel like more of a doggy biscuit I 'earned' by jumping through their hoops. But since I wasn't guaranteed my biscuit, I wasn't always a happy puppy.
But no stress now in that regards, which is good, since I need to reserve that for the 9/11 worries, A300 concerns, reclining seats, cancelled flights, etc - and I even have some left over for worrying whether I'm doing my part for this country by spending enough money on stuff I don't need!
Here's a wild and probably ignorant idea - why not gradually eliminate the frequent flyer program rewards as they are now, in the sense of honoring them until the miles are used up, then switching the programs to a price discount tier and still keep the upgrades. After all, a lot of elites get there by travelling on business. For a crude example, as soon as an elite level is reached, give some fixed percentage off all future purchases of tickets for that person as long as their elite level is current, something applicable to either business or personal travel. You could even offer the discounts based on class of travel. Say 5% for silvers coach, 10% for silvers business, 10% for gold coach, 15% for gold business, and 20% for platinum coach, 20-25% for platinum business.
These are just examples to make my point, but I think this whole frequent fliers miles concept has gone way overboard and rewards people for buying merchandise, flowers, phone service, you name it! And it leads to tons of rewards that cannot be claimed due to lack of reward seats held back by the airlines. Add the administrative costs in administering this program and it ain't cheap!
Yeah, I do those other things to get miles because the program exists, it's easy and you're nuts not to take advantage of it. But it doesn't mean it's the best system in light of the current troubles. Reducing costs for fliers and airlines while making airlines fill more seats and earn more revenue seems to be a goal worth achieving - I don't want all airlines to adopt the Southwest model (no offense!), just as I don't want only one make and model of a car sold in the U.S.
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