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Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015

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Old Nov 1, 2014, 10:31 am
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Last edit by: mendy7511
Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015 23 October

This afternoon, we will be announcing changes to certain elements of Air Canada Altitude in 2015, as well as new features to the program.

Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement
The Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement to reach Altitude status for 2016 is increasing. To qualify for Altitude status in 2016, the following Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement will need to be met:
Prestige 25K: 12,500 AQM /12 AQS
Elite 35K: 17,500 AQM /17 AQS
Elite 50K: 25,000 AQM /25 AQS
Elite 75K: 37,500 AQM / 37 AQS
Super Elite 100K: 50,000 AQM / 47 AQS
The new MFR will not impact qualification for Altitude 2015.

500 Mile Minimum
For travel as of March 1, 2015, mileage accrual will no longer be rounded up to a 500 Mile minimum. Miles earned will be based on the distance flown and the fare option purchased for flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Canada rouge and Star Alliance member airlines.

eUpgrades to Business Class
For eUpgrade requests made on or after March 1, 2015, the number of eUpgrade Credits required to upgrade is increasing. The number of eUpgrade Credits you can earn through the Threshold eUpgrades program is also changing. These changes were made following a thorough benchmarking of the upgrades practices of other major international airlines who often limit international upgrades solely to their highest membership tier, and often severely limit the number of upgrades a member may request over the course of a year.

We will also be expanding the high Flex eligibility category to include the U and H booking classes on the Domestic, Transborder and Sun markets, as well as the U booking class on International markets. The inclusion of these booking classes within the higher Flex eligibility category actually decreases the number of credits required to upgrade flights on certain markets when compared to 2014.

For eUpgrade credit requirements as of March 1, 2015, visit: http://www.aircanada.com/en/aeroplan...e/updates.html

eUpgrades to Premium Economy
In early 2015, you will be able to access the comfort of Premium Economy using eUpgrade Credits, when upgrading from an eligible fare. eUpgrade Add-ons will not apply for these upgrades.

eUpgrade Nominees
Beginning March 1, 2015, Altitude Super Elite 100K members will be entitled to share their eUpgrade privileges with one eUpgrade Nominee. Members will maintain their ability to share their eUpgrade privileges with Travel Companions.

Priority Boarding
In early 2015, a new streamlined boarding process will be introduced to ensure that you get even more out of the Priority Boarding privilege.

Complimentary access to International Maple Leaf Lounges and Star Alliance Business Lounges
As lounge occupancy grows, many of our lounges are at capacity levels. And while we continue to invest in many lounge expansion projects, the reality is that in many locations, additional space is simply not available. At the same time, benchmarking shows us that our eligibility polices are still over-indexed as compared to many of our competitors. In particular, access to lounges is not a privilege offered by most international airlines at the 35,000 qualifying miles level. We have therefore modified our policy whereby Elite 35K members will continue to have access to Maple Leaf Lounges located in the domestic and trans-border departure zones, as well as those in Los Angeles and New York (LaGuardia). However access to International Maple Leaf Lounges or Star Alliance Business lounges will no longer be available as a Select Privilege. Instead, an option to purchase a Maple Leaf Club membership will be introduced with a 50% discount.

Priority Rewards
In order to maintain the integrity of the Priority Reward privilege for eligible Altitude members, Priority Rewards will be limited to ten (10) reservations (with up to 9 passengers each) per member per benefit period, beginning March 1, 2015. While a thorough analysis has indicated that this change will not impact the vast majority of members (over 95%), it will allow us to maintain a benefit which we know is widely appreciated.

Flight Rewards for Premium Economy
In early 2015, you will be able to redeem Aeroplan miles for seats in the Premium Economy cabin on Air Canada. Details will be coming soon.

Fuel Surcharge on Flight Rewards & Flight Reward change fee waivers
For reservations made as of March 1, 2015, the fuel surcharges on ClassicFlight rewards for travel within Canada and between Canada and the U.S. will be waived for all Altitude members (ie. 25K and higher) . This is applicable on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge.

At the same time, Aeroplan Flight Reward change fee waivers for Super Elite 100K members will no longer be available for changes made on or after March 1, 2015. However, the fuel surcharges on ClassicFlight Rewards for travel between Canada and international destinations will be waived for Super Elite 100K members on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge.

For a complete list of details regarding these changes, visit http://www.aircanada.com/en/aeroplan...e/updates.html

New REVISED REVISIONS to the Altitude Program (Oct 31 email)

=============
Last week, changes to Air Canada Altitude for 2015 were announced. As always, weve been listening to your feedback and will be adjusting certain elements of the program accordingly.

Threshold eUpgrades
The amount of eUpgrade Credits offered through the Threshold eUpgrade program will increase. As of 100,000 Altitude Qualifying Miles or 100 Altitude Qualifying Segments, 20 eUpgrade Credits will be awarded for every 40,000 AQM or 40 AQS flown.

eUpgrade Validity Date
eUpgrade Credits earned on or after November 7, 2014 will be valid until February 29, 2016.
Additionally, eUpgrade Credits earned on or after November 1, 2015 will be valid until February 28, 2017.

Mile Minimum
For travel from March 1, 2015 onwards, all Altitude members will earn a minimum of 250 miles on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge as well as Star Alliance member airlines.

Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement
For non-Canadian residents, the Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement needed to reach Altitude status in 2016 will be 50% lower than the recently published Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement.
These changes are representative of Air Canadas focus on recognizing our most valued and important members. We remain committed to offering you one of the best frequent flyer programs in the industry.

Air Canada
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Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015

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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:56 pm
  #736  
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I'm going to go back to the sidelines and answer questions where I can. Not going to defend anything, but I had just hoped to give a little insight.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:56 pm
  #737  
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Originally Posted by Andrew Yiu
US airlines generally have bigger J cabins than us on their International fleet (whether or not they are doing that to account for these upgrades we don't know)...
You mean you really don't discuss these things with your UA and other "partners" in Star Alliance?

Originally Posted by Andrew Yiu
but we will have a true 3 class product with a PY cabin across majority of our International fleet that none of them have which means our J cabins are not as big as the what the US carriers have.
Will is the operative word here in terms of 3 class product. Current it is on a whopping 9 aircraft out of a widebody fleet of ~64. At any one time you can currently offer the travelling public less than 200 PY seats systemwide (double that if we count the Rouge 763's as PY).

Most of your North American competitors have a differently defined "true 3 class product" - F,C,Y or F,C,Y+,Y

Originally Posted by Andrew Yiu
Even with that, on most days, the waitlist is much longer than available seats especially on our prime flights so we have to adjust our upgrade policies so we can manage that.
Isn't that as it should be? After all if we could be certain of receiving upgrades, why buy J. Most airlines need to manage an upgrade list bigger than the number of available seats.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:58 pm
  #738  
 
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
Originally Posted by Dorian
I don't understand, is Z not enough for this route?

The itinerary I posted (and the $'s) will go to TK or QR instead of AC due to the e-upgrade slash.
No, that's my point - that is a Z ticket, so that's what we want. But you're asking why we would make it more difficult to upgrade Y tickets, so I think we're hoping to get more people paying for J (or Z).
Then improve your J product
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:59 pm
  #739  
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
I hardly see it as arrogance. We are a business and are pursuing a profit; giving away something for free doesn't really jive with that. I wonder what the percentage of a UA/DL/AA F/J cabin is paid versus upgraded, and how it would compare to the F or J cabin on LH/LX/CX/JL.
You didn't answer my question. I consider this a change to the contract much like a Sched change. Will you let us cancel itineraries penalty free?
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:59 pm
  #740  
 
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Originally Posted by becreative
Yet your customers, who buy paid J, are telling you they will be leaving due to these changes!

Oh the irony
I would be very curious to see if they loose rev in flex fares too or not. Will people still buy flex if they don't have the upgrade credits? or will they just go tango?

Take for example, YVR - SYD - YVR. Flex + copay = $3,500 more than tango + 52 credits (if you have them). How many fliers will just go tango and chance it with a confirmed LMU? In this example being part of the reward program gives you no benefit over being a once a year vacation flyer.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:01 pm
  #741  
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Originally Posted by superangrypenguin
We should so meet up some time. I like your thinking
Perhaps at the next FT DO for sure.

And yes, I have not refreshed an FT thread in the past few years like I have this one...!
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:01 pm
  #742  
 
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Originally Posted by The Lev
Comparing your hard or soft product to CX, EK or SQ - seriously? Glad to see you being aspirational, but maybe you should wait until you get there before planning to have a FF program like theirs.
This ! AC doesn't have a J product that is worth the cash they want for it...

Secondly, it's likely not a good idea to be telling your best (and/or most interested) clients that btw, we're not a charity... Not a good idea at all...
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:01 pm
  #743  
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Originally Posted by alexisonsmith
Then improve your J product
LOL

I hope AC takes the 788 J product to all widebodies at least.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:03 pm
  #744  
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
I'm going to go back to the sidelines and answer questions where I can. Not going to defend anything, but I had just hoped to give a little insight.
We need to be reminded that you are the messenger... so we won't eat you alive! Promise!
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:04 pm
  #745  
 
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Originally Posted by Sean Peever
I would be very curious to see if they loose rev in flex fares too or not. Will people still buy flex if they don't have the upgrade credits? or will they just go tango?

Take for example, YVR - SYD - YVR. Flex + copay = $3,500 more than tango + 52 credits (if you have them). How many fliers will just go tango and chance it with a confirmed LMU? In this example being part of the reward program gives you no benefit over being a once a year vacation flyer.
This is exactly what I pointed out upthread. I can fly Tango domestically. Save about $12000 on Tango fares (vs. the Flex FP), and still qualify for SE on segments. And I would miss out on only 12 upgrades. Hmmm. AC is banking on each upgrade being worth $1000 to me? Really? That is lunacy. Even better, being lifetime E50, I could buy a single Flex FP, save $10,000, and still get 8 or 9 upgrades. It is like they are trying to make me buy Tango, and not Latitude or J/Z.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:05 pm
  #746  
 
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
I'm not going to disagree with you, but see what I've bolded. The view we've decided to take is now more in line with our major European and Asian competitors.

Many are looking at BA or CX or even EK or LH or TK or SQ. Mileage upgrades aside, using instruments 'given' to you as a reward for your flying (vouchers, credits, what have you), how many free upgrades do you get on those guys? The majority of the people travelling in J (or F) on those carriers have paid for their seat with cash.
You are commenting on your non-North American competitors. Can you comment on how you see AC versus the US legacy carriers (eg AA/US, UA, DL) in terms of soft product, hard product, and yours (versus theirs) 2015frequent flyer programs (especially award seats and upgrades)? Can you comment of AC's perception of these comparisons on your versus their bottom line (ie revenues and profit/losses)?
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:06 pm
  #747  
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Originally Posted by Allvest
Now that you are so blunt about it. You WON'T get it from me. Just for this remarkable comment I will do my damnedest to avoid AC paid business at all cost.
I want to provide a different view on Ben's comment - I appreciate his directness.

Instead of dancing around discussions of enhancements, copying marketing info, etc., he has come right out and clarified the business logic to AC's actions.

There is no more uncertainty or rumours as to the logic of AC's actions and our scenarios of improving the changes. Our scenarios would not work for them, as it defeats their focus to drive people to pay for J.

Am I upset? Absolutely! I'm angry and disappointed, but I thank Ben for being blunt.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:08 pm
  #748  
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
If someone who previously paid Y and got J now sees it's harder to do so, and they have the means, maybe now they'll spring for J. If not, we don't have our heads in the sand, and if we see a negative revenue implication we can always make changes.
This is key.
Were the analytics done years ago and finally have come to fruition with 2015 program implementation, or did AC recently procure and implement a Big Data product that allowed them finally go full reality?
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:09 pm
  #749  
 
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Originally Posted by Absolute
I want to provide a different view on Ben's comment - I appreciate his directness.

Instead of dancing around discussions of enhancements, copying marketing info, etc., he has come right out and clarified the business logic to AC's actions.

There is no more uncertainty or rumours as to the logic of AC's actions and our scenarios of improving the changes. Our scenarios would not work for them, as it defeats their focus to drive people to pay for J.

Am I upset? Absolutely! I'm angry and disappointed, but I thank Ben for being blunt.
+1.

I disagree with their analysis, but I can separate the message from the messenger.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:09 pm
  #750  
 
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Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
No, that's my point - that is a Z ticket, so that's what we want. But you're asking why we would make it more difficult to upgrade Y tickets, so I think we're hoping to get more people paying for J (or Z).
Can't blame you for wanting to fill the J cabin with J/Z paying passengers.

Thinking about the changes AC has just made to limit the number of upgrading PAX, the only reason it makes sense right now for you to be doing this is if in fact upgrading passengers are regularly displacing J/Z paying passengers. While this may be the case on some flights I regularly see upgrades being given out at the gate meaning that these J/Z paying pax to fill the J cabin simply don't exist.
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