SocietyFlyGirl

Shareholders won't be too happy if they lose customers over their continued nickel and dime tactics with us. (How about that pay $$ for bottled water "enhancement" that's coming next year?)

I discussed the $250 copay with the AAgent shortly when they first instituted it. She said it was because so many people get their miles so cheaply and get them without even flying.

Nice that AA gives away miles so much that it lowers the benefits of the miles. If this is one of the reasons, why not have a lower copay (best case - no copay) for those of us with Gold or Plat status? That would keep us AA FF'ters happy and still allow them to get more money from the casual flyer.

brp

They certainly won't lose people over 2 bucks for a bottle of water since that's the same price as in the terminal...and they'll likely not lose many people over this increase in the copay. Sure, we at FT notice this and whine about it. The general flying public will likely not even realize that it hasn't always been this way. Inasmuch as other airlines require a minimum fare before even allowing an upgrade, this may even be competitive (I haven't looked, and I'm not going to because I don't care that much)...but it's not unlikely.

If I still has AA stock (sold mine too soon), I'd much rather see them charge this than worry that they will lose pax. Hell, if I had the same number of shares, the increases in the capital gains would far outweigh any copays I might have to cough up, so it would be a net positive for me

(I don't like it, but they won't lose people)

Cheers.

JGR01

Hey .. I'd put a $5 in the bill slot of theNGBC seats when I want them to lay flat! Tho like a casino, I want a place to stick my EXP card so I get perk credits for money spent!

Or maybe for NO copay I would even take the window seat where you have to climb over the aisle person...

rcherskov

Things could be worse. On Delta, for instance, upgradable TATL fares are M class or higher. Those fares have crept up past $1,800, even in the off season. So its $1,800++ on Delta plus 50K miles to upgrade. There really isn't any cheaper option (that I've found) for getting into the premium cabin on Delta using miles. On American, you can upgrade just about any TATL fare with the $300 co-pay, making it around ~$900++ plus miles including the copay. To me, this is really one issue that could pry me off of Delta planes and put me on American's.

aaupgrade

Well TomCayman already answered your question. "Because they can".

Unfortunately this is a sign of the times. Full flights, full hotels mean higher fares/rates, and financially good times for the companies that take advantage of the situation. It is basic supply and demand. They instituted the $250 copay last year and seats were still hard to come by. They will continue to raise prices each year until the analysis shows they no longer have demand that exceeds supply and then they will stop. The airlines have trained people like me to settle for nothing less than BC or FC and as a result I will still take the solution that best meets my needs. They will not just look at whether upgrades are purchased, but will also look at whether more B fares are purchased and upgraded with less miles, or whether more people buy YUP/KUP or I fares. They are totally happy with those of us that instead, decide to do B fares with fewer miles, or purchase discounted BC/FC fares. My guess is their revenue analysis programs are some of the most complex in the world to match the fare system that it has to analyze. So far AA has done very well in this department, much better than its competitors.

Unfortunately from an individual perspective it still sucks. Glad I made EXP this year. When I drop to Plat again depending on what AA and UA has changed by then, I may have to do a reassessment of my choices. Until then I will stay with AA as the domestic upgrades are better than E+ any day. I don't do coach.

On a tangental note: I have checked hotel prices for park and fly rates in Chicago and also here in the DC area and they have nearly doubled in less than a year. Hotel prices are going through the roof.

aaupgrade

Don't give them any ideas.

Hey, I'm not trading my aisle seat copay or no copay. (Hey, we haven't had a trade seat thread for at least a few hours; I'm jonesing here.)

millionmiler

I haven't used miles to upgrade in 7 years so this policy doesn't affect me at all, but I can understand the feeling of others. $600 plus the miles is a big price tag. Less than paying for J class though.

queenladyk

I agree. I would think that they would consider this option. Rather than p***ing off all of the people that pay them lots of $$$$ to fly - If they HAVE to have a co-pay which I think is BS - they should have a tiered system where the elites get a discount.

millionmiler

Consider? Possibly. Decide not to? Certainly.

The AA world seems to have accepted $250 and I suspect that it will accept $300.

As for elites, AA wants its frequent passengers to pay more. They want people to pay $8000 for that J class seat and not $500+$600+miles. The infrequent flyers are not the people that keep them in business.

drtdk

My head is starting to hurt.

trips2win

I agree 100%.

This is just a smart business decision which will increase revenue short and long term. This will hopefully keep fares at the basement prices we enjoy today. I pay less than $200 RT for most of my domestic business tickets, plus $120 for upgrades, ending up in F for $300. If I was an EXP I'd be flying FC for under $200. This is extremely cheap.

drtdk

An old "friend" with a new name?

myfrogger

Has anyone else sent a nasty letter of to AAdvantage CS or am I the only one? I doubt it will make a difference but it made me feel better than complaining on this board

MIKESILV

Exactly.

Everybody jumps on the $58 R/T ORD/MSP times three to get about 33k miles or the $39 DFW/AUS fares to net 36K miles BOTH FARES about $100 less than normal AND NOT ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT HERE ABOUT THE FARES BEING TOO LOW

AA increases copay 20% and you would think the frigging world came to and end.

Which one of those two scenarios do you experts think will permit the airline to survive?
The people who complain that the premium class is below the standard of the competition are some of the same b.....ing about having the pay $50 more.
Do any you think $350 per segment to LHR is going to pay for "lay-flat" seats???

mike

justageek

What on earth are you talking about? This thread is discussing the new $600 round-trip co-pay in addition to 50,000 miles to upgrade a round-trip international ticket. You seem to be talking about non-Hawaii domestic flights (since those are the only ones that cost less than $200). Nobody is complaining about AA's upgrade policy for those flights here. We're talking about the new upgrade policy for international flights. The base fare (before upgrade co-pay) for such flights is often in excess of $1000.