ellinj

Which is why no one will know what will happen and the reason this thread is speculation. I am sure both sides are presenting their sides and the new program will end up taking features from both the old advantage and dividend mile programs.

kpowed

I've been dreading this merge since it was first announced, delighted when the DOJ stepped in, and now worried with it done. With Parker taking the reigns, I'd expect to see the following "enhancements":

1. SWUs restricted to certain fare classes
2. Devaluation of the award chart, matching competitors UA, DL.
3. Stingier meal service in F
4. Non-complimentary transcon upgrades (I fly SFO-JFK regularly)

rrgg

5. Award redemption fee (already stated by Parker)
6. Fees to change award flight times/dates
7. Fees no longer exempted for some elites
8. End of double miles earned by PLT

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

My guess is that while PMAA (Horton) tended to resist following changes at UA/DL Parker will likely match any "revenue" or "cost reduction" enhancements introduced by UA and/or DL quicker than Concord airspeed.

Jacobin777

Maybe a sign of things to come?

http://mobile.businessweek.com/artic...mpaign_id=yhoo

dtremit

Fare increases have both succeeded and failed many times in the past -- I wouldn't read too much into it.

Jacobin777

With only 3 legacies there is a much better chance of these fares sticking. This was exactly what the original DOJ complaint was about.

iridge

Unfortunately at least some if not all of these will likely happen. And not that there are greener pastures for elites to defect to

NauticalWheeler

The old school definition of an elite is broken. Elite used to mean that you flew X amount of miles/year on discounted fares.

The airlines are now introducing minimum spend requirements (and the New American will almost certainly follow).

I would suggest that the elite customers are those actually paying for the premium cabin.

jcf27

^^ well said ! That's how it should be !

--J

Stripy

Ok, using your suggestion - let's give the benefits to those that actually pay for the premium cabin....and if that happens to be a corporation lets give the corporation the benefits and not the flyer....after all, they're the ones paying. That would seem to be fair.

Microwave

No need whatsoever to be eye-rolling; I fully understand NauticalWheeler's point though I happen to disagree with it.

My belief is that status is a mechanism to drive loyalty and, ultimately, incremental revenue. By only showing benefits to those who've purchased an expensive ticket on each flight, an airline is in fact working directly against that drive to create loyalty by incenting customers to purchase the cheapest ticket which provides them with these benefits each time he or she flies. To put it another way, if I put all of my business flying to AA (even if it's just economy flying, business flyers often still pay more than leisure travellers might), I'm more likely to continue bringing that business to AA if AA create a mechanism to bring me value for that loyalty. If I get no other recognition for bringing all that business to AA, I'll book the cheapest fare every time, which increasingly frequently may be on competitors. In an extreme and derivative case, AA loses some of my more lucrative business because they didn't give me an exit row and free checked bags when I took the kids to Disneyland.

My loyalty does indeed have an inherent value to airline, and airlines are incented to use elite status to create some loyalty to that end. The minimum spend requirements are coming about to keep mileage runners and extremely budget conscious travellers, which bring a different value proposition to the table, from benefiting from some elite benefits (note that these flyers are not barred from status altogether; indeed UA and DL still make low-level status relatively easy to get even for these flyers). But an airline who stops providing recognition to travellers who've not bought an expensive ticket on that flight will find that their customers lack loyalty altogether, and another airline may see this weakness and try to move in on those loyal customers. A bit like what has happened with some UA 1Ks coming over to AA perhaps.

Stripy

Sorry, my turn to disagree, the eye rolling was completely warranted. The idea that elite status should only be for those that fly premium class flights usually comes from those that don't even pay for it out of their own pocket (that may or may not be the case in this instance, I don't know). As I've said before, I will support such an idea 100% when airlines give the benefits to those who actually pay for those flights, be it individuals or corporations. Up until that point I will continue to resent the idea that someone who pays for their flights out of their own pocket should in some way be disadvantaged compared to someone who may not pay for their tickets and may not even have a choice of what airline to fly.

Microwave

So these were more pre-emptive eye rolls, just in case another FlyerTalker has that opinion?

Fair enough, resent away. Everyone is entitled to resent as much as he or she would like. No need or justification for being unwelcoming and disrespectful to other members by eyerolling though. In fact, I would posit that being measured and thoughtful may even have the potential to sway others' opinions more than eyerolling.

WhatsInYourBackpack

This seems to be less likely to occur now that Delta has wiped out the restrictions.

United is really the only one with the heavy restrictions going fwd at the moment.