Lunch
Just a point or two to add from what was discussed at the breakfast. At the lunch:
1) they did indeed mention that there was discussion about using the old American club at the end of the C Concourse. If an agreement could be reached, it would be open by the end of the year.
2) Some of the ideas mentioned for platinum were unlimited U availability when qualifying fares were purchased and always having award seats available. If they would double the MVP gold upgrade certificates and maybe a reduced BR membership fee, we'd be talking about a pretty rich top tier that doesn't diminish the Gold tier too much.
3) A great feature too long in the coming is the *assumption* that Golds want first class. If you buy a qualifying fare and the U space is available, the system wil automatically grant you the seats. There will be an *opt out* feature if you want to remain in coach with your party or for some other reason. You will also automatically be added to the waitlist. I've forgotten to do this a couple of times, and I go to check at three days out and my upgrade has not cleared because I didn't add myself to the waitlist at the time of booking weeks or months before.
4) An online wallet has been discussed before and it's closer to fruition. Any unused ticket values and customer service compensations etc can be pooled in your wallet for use.
5) Walkway from North terminal to South terminal at ANC is under construction. This is great news, but it's not on the secure side so being able to go over to the Boardroom when you're on Continental would still be too much of an ordeal. [Note: construction on Terminal A/B is still 1 1/2 years from completion.]
6) They are working to eliminate the loopholes in the whole *36 hour waitlist* stealth upgrades by people working the system.
It was good seeing MissyDarlin and she brought up a feature that I didn't know about. On a multiple segment trip, you might see a gold U, but you should hover the pointer over the U to see if all segments are available. You will get the gold U even if only one segment is available and have an unpleasant surprise at the end of the process.
I'm sure I've forgotten something. Anyone else??