F7 Two days out on transcon LAX/SFO-JFK and no saaver?
Apr 21, 2018, 4:03 pm
#31
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Additionally, the idea that things are more profitable without redemptions (even if the cabin is full) ignores the sales of miles to banks. AA thinks that once the mile sales drop enough, they can put out a little bit of crappy connecting flight availability in Y and folks will start using AA cards again. I know a lot of people who use affinity cards, almost all of them had an AA card at one time and no-one puts spend on them anymore unless they have Silver Aviator or CitiExecutive and are chasing EQMs and EQDs.
I personally think they will feel that loss of revenue pretty soon.
I personally think they will feel that loss of revenue pretty soon.
Apr 21, 2018, 4:19 pm
#32
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But coach is empty
Apr 21, 2018, 6:25 pm
#33
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They are withholding seats for awards not because the planes fill up, but they want to break the expectation of saver awards, so we book anytime awards.
Apr 21, 2018, 7:20 pm
#34
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And yes, I am sure people will be able to give evidence on where it has not improved (or gotten worse), I am just saying my gut feel is that the some changes are happening.
Apr 21, 2018, 9:29 pm
#35
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Well it's now T-18 and AA 276, AA 18, AA 20 are all still F7. AA will sell an F seat for 95,000 miles or $2549. I suppose one could buy the miles from AA directly and still save on a cash fare.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
Apr 21, 2018, 9:59 pm
#36
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Well it's now T-18 and AA 276, AA 18, AA 20 are all still F7. AA will sell an F seat for 95,000 miles or $2549. I suppose one could buy the miles from AA directly and still save on a cash fare.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
Apr 21, 2018, 11:18 pm
#37
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Apr 22, 2018, 8:26 am
#38
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Having played this game of 'chicken' before on the transcons waiting for space to open, the sense I get is this is done manually...and that whomever is responsible to look at close in departures - doesn't work the weekend. There seems to be a much better job done during the week of adding close in award space vs. during Sat/Sun....ymmv.
Apr 22, 2018, 8:57 am
#39
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Having played this game of 'chicken' before on the transcons waiting for space to open, the sense I get is this is done manually...and that whomever is responsible to look at close in departures - doesn't work the weekend. There seems to be a much better job done during the week of adding close in award space vs. during Sat/Sun....ymmv.
Seems like they won't release any as its t-6 hrs to go... I think someone upthread is probably right that AA is truly trying to break the backs of anyone thinking of redeeming sAAver. Space is there (F7 x 3 flights) and no way they'll sell 21+ F seats in 6-10 hours on SFO-JFK today.
Apr 22, 2018, 9:17 am
#40
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Additionally, the idea that things are more profitable without redemptions (even if the cabin is full) ignores the sales of miles to banks. AA thinks that once the mile sales drop enough, they can put out a little bit of crappy connecting flight availability in Y and folks will start using AA cards again. I know a lot of people who use affinity cards, almost all of them had an AA card at one time and no-one puts spend on them anymore unless they have Silver Aviator or CitiExecutive and are chasing EQMs and EQDs.
I personally think they will feel that loss of revenue pretty soon.
I personally think they will feel that loss of revenue pretty soon.
I don't see much support for the idea that carriers need to make saver awards available for redemptions of sold miles.
Apr 22, 2018, 9:18 am
#41
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Well it's now T-18 and AA 276, AA 18, AA 20 are all still F7. AA will sell an F seat for 95,000 miles or $2549. I suppose one could buy the miles from AA directly and still save on a cash fare.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
Apr 22, 2018, 9:26 am
#42
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Well it's now T-18 and AA 276, AA 18, AA 20 are all still F7. AA will sell an F seat for 95,000 miles or $2549. I suppose one could buy the miles from AA directly and still save on a cash fare.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
I wonder if the change in accounting rules will force the beancounters to reconsider their position and try to get some of those miles off their books.
Apr 22, 2018, 9:29 am
#43
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VFTW has a headline on a blog post a year ago quoting an AA SEC filing
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea...lines-profits/
And a more recent post discussing the issue. You might not agree, but the statement that there isn't much support for the argument doesn't seem grounded in fact.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea...ed-miles-fell/
United actually has redemptions available to a far greater degree.
Last edited by beachfan; Apr 22, 2018 at 9:50 am
Apr 22, 2018, 9:44 am
#44
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Having played this game of 'chicken' before on the transcons waiting for space to open, the sense I get is this is done manually...and that whomever is responsible to look at close in departures - doesn't work the weekend. There seems to be a much better job done during the week of adding close in award space vs. during Sat/Sun....ymmv.
Apr 22, 2018, 10:53 am
#45
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Eh, but F inventory would be reduced accordingly. They don't want to overbook *both* premium cabins!
(And of course this would be an instance where the F cabin seatmap could be unreliable, but if EF shows F7, then there are (at least) 7 unsold F seats, net of any overbookings in J.
It's not like AA never releases Z inventory. Looks like plenty over the next month on JFK-LAX, but I think you're more likely to find it on the off-hours flights that people are less likely to pay for in general (as opposed to just having a bunch of empty seats on a particular flight) -- e.g., Saturday afternoons on LAX-JFK. Probably because they don't want anyone conditioned to think they can just use miles (at the Saver level) at the last minute.
(And of course this would be an instance where the F cabin seatmap could be unreliable, but if EF shows F7, then there are (at least) 7 unsold F seats, net of any overbookings in J.
It's not like AA never releases Z inventory. Looks like plenty over the next month on JFK-LAX, but I think you're more likely to find it on the off-hours flights that people are less likely to pay for in general (as opposed to just having a bunch of empty seats on a particular flight) -- e.g., Saturday afternoons on LAX-JFK. Probably because they don't want anyone conditioned to think they can just use miles (at the Saver level) at the last minute.
Last edited by ijgordon; Apr 22, 2018 at 11:02 am