Is AQD requirement helping or hurting AC?
 

I was just updating my signature below for today's flight (and I still have a
JL flight and DL flight tomorrow), when it struck me that from 1990 or so until
2015 I would not have more than a handful of non-Star Alliance flights a year.
The usual exceptions were things like the AZ fare mistake, or flights within
China where *A was not available.

Last year my non-AC/*A flights increased, and this year they are increasing
even more.

I am still flying my 100K+ miles annually, but since *A flights will no longer get
me to SE, I am now looking for the best prices.

So AC is saving the cost of me being SE, but they and *A are losing a lot
of my overall business ( which is overwhelmingly paid F/J international travel).

Is this really a long-term winning strategy for AC?

No. But that's not what this is about.

Right now LF is high, very high, and they need to extract every dollar that they can. When the LF drops, they will ease up the program rules etc.

what is LF? I'd check the glossary but it just serves up a blank page on mobile.

Load Factor.

Edit: Load factor.

Load Factor.

it's Load Factor.

Thanks all!

To me LF is Life Flight (aka ORNGE rotary wing Medevac A139) but to those on here it's Load Factor

Load factor

Currently maybe not, but with US airlines taking away FF benefits on their cheapest fare groupings, it may turn into a benefit or a push.

Remember Star Alliance flights can get you to SE again, provided they are ticketed by Air Canada on 014 stock (don't have to be AC codeshares).

AQD Enhancement for 2017
"You will earn Altitude Qualifying Dollars (AQD) for the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges (Y, YQ and YR) on eligible flights flown, including:

Flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada RougeTM.
Flights operated by Star AllianceTM member airlines ticketed on Air Canada ticket stock (ticket numbers beginning with “014”)."

Jumping in on this.. is there somewhere on the fare rules (of UA, for example) that specifies the cost of changing the ticket stock from 016 to 014? Or is the only way to find out to call in and speak to an agent?

Thanks^

Sometimes you can find UA flights for the same price on AC.com, and then it's ticketed 014. But then you have the hassle of code share - and if you want a United P fare, forget it, AC.com will charge you double or triple.

There are ways to book UA flights on AC.com