malpas

Is this Air Canada's way of reducing the numbers of Prestige, Elite and Super Elite members? Tango does not earn status miles. Tango plus does but at a cost that is too much. For example: Regina to Toronto: Tango $632.00; Tango Plus 789.00 - a difference of $157.00. Cost for each status mile is .06.
My budget cannot justify this difference. I have been elite for many years, last year earning in excess of 50,000 status miles. This may be my last year because of the cost of the status miles.
Am I alone out there? Does Air Canada care? All the best, M

salfcl

That's why I have avoided Air Canada all these years. I must give credit to Air Canada for being so creative in extracting more revenues, which, however, also highlights how uncompetitive its prices are on routes served by more than 2 airlines.

Fermat

you are not alone. Air Canada only cares about earning the "extra" $'s associated with their miles.

Why bother? Your point values are declining as redemption costs continue to inflate, the ability to upgrade has been practically squeezed out of existence, and you can buy lounge access for cheaper than the incremental cost of "buying" your status.

AClover

I'm with ya. I've stopped chasing miles. I figured that most of the benefits I value most (lounge, priority check-in) can be purchased for $189 (CIBC Aerogold MLL Pass) and I may just do that come March 2009. Granted its not full elite (no upgrades, seat selection) but it's good enough and I save lots of money over buying infalted T+ and Leisure Fare (to LHR). I have also started flying WJ and Porter if the price is right and the sched fits my needs (I mainly fly YUL and YVR in Canada). For U.S. and Intl flights I have also started to chose whatever flight is cheapest and most convinient (with a 1 connection max limit, but being based in YYZ even direct flights on other carriers are often availiable to where I need to go). I used to love AC as my moniker implies but I think they may have shot themselves in the foot by making it too hard to be loyal. I understood the business decision when T+ fares were only $30 more. AC's compeition didn't have FF programs, and the thinking was if you want to compare prices, apples to apples, then at this price yoiu do not get FF miles, because you are not getting them at the discount carrier either. In those days I was happy to pony up the few extra bucks. But now, it's just too much. Is AC purposely trying to shirnks its FF base? I don't know, but for me what was once a program that worked as an FF program was intended, in that I was loyal to AC and flew them sometimes despite a price differential or a better flight time at another carrier, their decision to make their status miles so expnsive has "released" me from being loyal and I now just chose the flight time/price that suits me best. Often it is still AC but I am definately starting to spread things around. AC has made their business decision, and I am making mine.


AClover

anti_ice

AClover you hit it bang on. I am thinking that chasing AP miles has become a fools game. $30 upsell I can understand, $150!!! forget it.

Upgrades being the only status benefit that can't be purchased by a non status member has kept me as an elite for many years. But this year, upgrades to Europe have become MUCH more expensive and may be all but out of reach for many status members.

Z-man

You guys and you're whining about everything. If all you want is Lounge Access and Priority Check-in then go get the CIBC card. You will still not get the SE check-in and in T fares you'll always be near the top of the list for people who need to get bumped for an oversold flight. And yes, flights do oversell, it's part of the business, if they didn't do it and sent more empty planes around then tickets would be more, they do their best and play the average like an insurance company does.
Redemption levels have not risen that much on most routes. 10 years ago a long haul NA flight in Exec cost me 40k miles and it did for my trip over the July4th weekend to San Fran. People think they're expensive because they book them with little no notice and no planning or they want to buy electronics, well if you want merchandise rewards collect AirMiles. I think Aeroplan should be strictly a frequent flyer program and not a loyalty rewards program.
Air Canada only cares about $$$$, well it's not like they haven't gone through bankruptcy protection like every other major NA carrier, so management is cost concious, that's a good thing!!! Why would they want to pay for Status Miles for people that fly three times a year and after five years have enough for a reward? These are people that will always seek out the cheapest flight anyways, so in my opinion it's a good cost savings. If it loses you, who cares? Losing you is going to affect the bottom line alot less than giving out millions of miles. It's also good that they expire!!!
I've been getting upgraded way more in the past two years than I have in the past. I fly up front 75% of the time, sometimes with certs, sometimes without. You guys just think they owe you something.

Sebring

^

I wouldn't think that Tango Plus was only created for chasing status miles. It comes with a smaller change fee and is more likely to available closer to one's travel dates.

If chasing status miles is your goal, why not fly in J and get even more status miles?

Or book your T+ further in advance. If you book ahead a month or two, T+ fares are a lot cheaper. Maybe the price of keeping status is not financially, but being more firm in your travel plans.

If one doesn't want to chase status, and shop around for air fares, that's all well and good. But don't make it sound like somebody is carrying on a personal vendetta against you.

As for overselling flights, I can imagine that with the current capacity cuts coming across North America, load factors year round will go higher and there will be even more oversell situations, or in the case of WS, situations where the only seats available are at its highest fares, with no perks.

malpas

malpas

People who fly three times a year are hardly going to worry about collecting status miles, they probably don't worry about the airline they take, either. Some of us are loyal to Air Canada, it's too bad that Air Canada is forgetting that by making status miles so expensive to pay for - especially for those who pay our own way. All the best, M

Braindrain

While ppl who fly 3x a year (and less) probably don't care about status, they still ask how they can score a free upgrade.

As for the OP's argument, I think he's missing the entire corp travel dimension.

Poco

I have to agree with this. My corporate travel policy is T+. It made sense when put in place when T+ was a $30 premium. We were spending $15 to pay for seat selection and for an additional $15 you got a lower same day change fee and those who collected were happy to get their status miles. Since then the T/T+ spead has become much larger, but the corp travel policy remains the same. I wonder how many other companies this is true for?

zkzkz

Are those prices for real? Seriously? It's cheaper to fly YUL-LHR than to fly from Saskatchewan to Ontario? w.t.f. is AC thinking?

anti_ice

Only 75% eh? Must not be a very good planner. I'm batting 1000 over the pond for the past 4 years.

ceaton

It's been like this for ages... Responding to competition versus offering a service / serving as infrastructure.

Necrosis

I had the same problem when looking at YVR to YYZ for this summer. The T+ fares were almost $200 more than T. I ended up booking via two cross-border flights with a stopover in the US. A longer vacation, slightly cheaper fare and more status miles. Doesn't make sense but I'm glad it worked out.