Originally Posted by
MikeMpls
Problem I see here is emphasis on $$$. A substantial # of people who attend DO's do so on award tickets and/or use vouchers, and travel on partners rather than the carrier hosting the DO. Obviously, partner's metal won't "do" for this mid-DO trip, but if you also eliminate use of miles and vouchers, as appears to be the case, you've excluded a large portion (probably > 50%) of your potential audience.
I understand your plight. Unfortunately, I don't believe NW can afford a charter on WorldPerks redemptions alone. Hence, the more people that could be signed up, the lower the overall cost per person. Of course, if you're not willing to spend one cent, then this event probably wouldn't be for you, anyhow.
I think we must truly understand the gravity of the suggestion that
redtailshark is making. Nowhere in the history of FlyerTalk or any other aviation-themed community that I'm aware of has something like this actually happened. FlyerTalk potentially has the member base and the ingenuity to pull something like this off and it could be memorable, moreso than a retirement flight. This would be
our flight. Ultimately what value, if any, we individually would place on that is what likely drives our response to the proposal.
Answers to redtailshark's questions:
1. I like the idea of a Lakeshore/seaside/harborside cookout. If we could price it as sort of an all-in day trip including airfare, meals, drinks, etc. I think I might be willing to go up to $500 or so. For the airfare alone, it would be ideal if it didn't top $300. But if it were an issue of the event being a go/no-go, I could perhaps go 50% more.
2. Yes, and this is probably the most logical and safest way to do it.
3. It would be interesting to see how the cost structure would be related to the destination. I think San Diego, San Francisco, or Seattle would be wonderful destinations for a day-trip event with NW. Otherwise, closer to home, Duluth (don't knock it until you've been there) could offer a much more Northwoodsy feel and a more intimate setting, and perhaps be cheaper to swing.
This is a really great idea. I hope that it could gain some traction so that we could start dealing with real numbers to see if it's even possible to do.