I think the fact that we're hearing sentiments like those above coming from new postors to the board is indicative of what will happen to UA as they proceed down this new avenue.

I don't hold out any hope that Tilton will change this direction. Let's remember that he comes from an industry with no ties or commitments to its end-user customer base. His lukewarm e-mail to me as a 1K (that I'm sure all of us received in the past day) is indicative of that. He may have been meeting with employees for the past week but I think he should have contacted the customers within the first hours of his assuming the mantle.

Joe Brancatelli passed along some excellent suggestions in his column of last week. Will Tilton listen or initiate any contact with customers on a first-hand basis? I strongly doubt it.

I'm not a Million Miler (only 800+K) but I'm gone as a 1K after this year. The centers are a BIG deal for me and the erosion in benefits and especially attitude toward me as a valuable customer in the past two years will have me ride as a 1P or less until my huge mileage account is down to zero then...phhhttt! There is negligible benefit to giving the airline 100,000 miles of loyalty any longer when I can have NW Gold and AS MVP to go with my AA elite status.