canadiancow

Are that many people really entering through other means? I don't have the stats, but my rouge estimate from spending too much time at lounge desks would be 70+% entering with status.

RangerNS

A lot of FOTSGs with CC perks. They are why the Cafe (and SSLs to a lesser extent) exist, no?

Fiordland

I don't see how AC could limit access. They don't do priority pass so it is basically credit cards where MLL is a named benifit. There is an existing contact between the airline and bank and between the bank and card holder.

canadiancow

Cafe excludes E35K and the MLL passes given out to all Altitude members. And it offers a very different environment, clearly built on "grab and go". No booze, no business centre, no conference rooms... It's not meant to be "better", it's meant to be different, albeit maybe at a higher cost accounted for each entry. But I honestly can't see myself using the Cafe after 11am.

The SS is only missing things that couldn't fit (in YYZ, showers and a business centre). In YVR, that's even less of an issue because you have easier access to the MLL. SS is a strict improvement in terms of crowding, food, and beverage. The cafe is not better than the MLL, it's just a different offering.

I've unfortunately had to sit at MLL desks for far too long (agent incompetence - not always MLL agent, but some agent), and I just don't believe that the CC perk is significant. Maybe on December 23, but certainly not the rest of the year.

And like Fiordland said, it's an advertised benefit that's been paid for. As is everything else. You can limit entry due to capacity issues, but then what about us Altitude members who have "paid" for MLL passes if we're never able to use them?

skybluesea

delete

Adam Smith

I don't follow. Yes, low jet fuel prices would normally allow older gas guzzlers to keep flying, but if demand is down significantly, the price of jet fuel isn't all that important. My point is: if you have to park something because demand is down so much, why pay to park and maintain an old 763 (or 744, or a not-so-old but very expensive A380) if it has very little flying left, when you could cut your costs by just sending it to the scrap heap? That's fundamentally different from parking a 345 when demand is decent but it's just too expensive to fly because fuel prices have gone up.

thaddaeus

They could be stricter with their guest policies. Perhaps only 1 max guest?

skybluesea

delete

karachi

Given the extraordinary circumstances, they can change that. The other option will be to reduce capacity and put the seats 2 meters from each other. no buffet.

I suspect this may also lead to a further reduction in paper boarding pass usage, and the use of app instead of lounge agents handling physical altitude cards.

Fiordland

Trying to get out of the contract with credit card companies would obviously involve AC giving the credit card companies a refund and the credit cad companies giving their card holders a refund. Given how the lounges will likely be fairly lightly used for the next few months not certain their much point to that.

Some of the Delta lounges I go to frequently have the scanner sitting on the table and you scan your phone or your boarding pass instead of handing anything to the attendant at the lounge front desk. AC could do the same..

visitor

just texted to me:

yyztozag

What? First of all, that would be a waste of money, and second of all, you have as much distance between people in a pod as you do in your "staggered" 2-2-2 configuration. Also, people keep forgetting that this virus will eventually be beaten. Even the most terrified doctors agree with that. They won't rush to reconfigure their planes for a few months. Then when social distancing is no longer needed, people will have zero privacy on four to five figure tickets. I don't think anyone wants that. I for one would just fly PE if they did that (and for obvious reasons, they won't).

yyztozag

That would be pretty cool. Not the vending machine, but the window. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Signature Suite go full a-la-carte (although I hope not, a few bites from the buffet come in handy when waiting for your meal).

I would be thrilled to see Skytrax go bankrupt. They're the most obscene organization in the whole aviation industry. Without going off-topic, I fail to understand how LH (5*) is a better quality airline than Etihad, SWISS or Air NZ (4*). There. Now, back to topic, if there was a better quality rating agency, maybe AC would fix some of their flaws (OTP, etc).

Transpacificflyer

If pricing was as logical and as compliant with the mathematical models we assume, then yes, I understand your criticism. However, my position takes into account the emotional dynamic and the expected epidemic waves that will follow. I am using the polio epidemics that plagued us up until the 1950's as a guide on what to expect. The pricing model takes into account that there will be a core group of people who need/want to travel. We see some of them on the forum. Yes, flight loads will be decreased and the airlines will respond with reduced frequencies. That core group of "must fly" customers will be willing to pay more.
On paper there will be over capacity, but once the airlines have laid off employees, they will seek to shed ongoing labour costs. AC can easily shrink its capacity with the retirement of some of its old fleet forced to stay in service because of the Max fiasco. The airlines will act in unison on their fare increases.

Yes, the pundits are predicting introductory low fares to regain flyers, but I don't see it happening, and if it does, it won't be sustained or in significant discount value.
My argument is that the airlines will contract, but they will always have a core group who will accept higher airfares. The airline can offer affordable airfares on some sun destinations if there is competition.

In respect to the fare classes and the options, as lucrative as the extra fees are, especially their tax treatment, those fees have been the lightening rod for complaints. I expect that there will be pressure to cut those fees. If airlines are being forced to bypass the additional seat selection fares to accommodate families, and there additional baggage fees are causing more grief than profit, we will see airfares simplified with more emphasis made on more inclusive options. The airlines will still get their fees, but they will be simplified and perhaps even increased.

In respect to TPE, I hold a very different view than you because I see it becoming a regional hub replacing mainland China. BR offers a significantly better quality experience than the mainland AC partners and could easily service the region. Perfect for connections to SE Asia. Taiwan is a major center of medical supply manufacturing and because of its strong technology and manufacturing base, I expect more investment in Taiwan vs. China. Taiwan has been the only country to really manage the pandemic and to control its infections, so it will be recognized as the Asian "safe" place to do business with, to transit and to visit. If AC can maintain its Hubs in Hong Kong and Japan, Taiwan is the ideal regional sub hub. Best of all, Taiwan would welcome Air Canada and would roll out the red carpet.

skybluesea

delete