Great analysis!
I think this trend is not driven by the flyers, but by the design of Air Canada and thus Aeroplan's masters, who want to see it this way, or whatever the enventual outcome of the program will become.
Originally Posted by
ac789
And from Shareholder's numbers, we can see the P ranks dropping precipitously in recent years. I think the P ranks will drop further, as differentiation of fare products increasingly split passengers into two groups: those who are willing to pay extra for status (via Tango Plus fares and higher) and those who aren't. So FF status is becoming not so much a reward for frequent fliers, but rather frequent fliers willing to pay extra for the privilege.