flyer0123

I received the survey as a GOLD. Had a free form comment section at the end of the survey, to comment on American airlines in General and/or the AA upgrade program

lds89

I share skepticism of others on this board; but if this ends up being a choice thing a la Delta - ie instead of getting 4 SWUs you could get 2 to confirm at any seat; etc; I think it could at least be interesting and might even be a smart move by AA to make the program more flexible. I get tons of value from the SWUs - hence why I go for the 8 every year; but some people just don't - they don't like rolling the dice (confirmable space is basically gone - I still am 100% on 6 SWU tries this year and have only missed 1 in 3 years as an EXP), they don't really fly internationally, they fly paid J, etc. These people could get use from fee free changes or a set of upgrades they definitively could use on tough routes.

I don't think AA can cut upgrade benefits outright and expect to be competitive and they don't have the commanding network of say a United. Very easy for lots of non DFW, non PHX, non CLT fliers to choose other markets, including their golden goose LAX. The TOD upgrade thing is the only thing they can pull that would be consistent with their competitors, and I think we all know some form of this is coming.

AA100k

ElmhurstNick

I've gone from being a multi-year EXP to a BA Silver/LT Gold, largely for two reasons:

1. The ridiculously small MCE cabins compared to DL
2. Sorting by MQD for upgrades as opposed to purchase date, which cut my upgrade percentage as an EXP from 80% to 30%.

I was originally going to float down to PLT, and then I realized that if I was going to have to buy e500s that were never going to clear, I may as well just buy F when the price is reasonable. So I didn't need to be PLT any more, I could just buy up to MCE when needed.

Then I realized that if I concentrated my buying up to F at the beginning of this year and picked off four BA/IB segments on my April vacation to Europe, that I could be BA Silver and save the MCE costs, save the AC cost from the credit card, and get Flagship Lounge access when I'm in ORD/LAX (don't care about the other hubs). And fly AA only when it's the best choice. I qualified on cheap first on DCA-CLT-ORD, ORD-DFW-AUS, DCA-PHL-ORD, ORD-DCA-CLT-MIA, and a last minute ORD-DCA-ORD day trip, and then a bunch of coach flights where I bought up to MCE at full cost instead of the 50% Gold discount. And moving from main cabin to MCE or F was completely funded out of what would have been my AC fees for 2018 and 2019.

So now I'm diversified between BA, DL (Gold, soon to be Platinum), and WN. If AA wants to make MCE a booking category and exclude it from OWS at ticketing, then AA compares unfavorably with WN on short-haul, and about the same with United C+ on ORD-west coast. So even less money for AA.

I really don't get their strategy here.

Antarius

Did not receive the survey. Hmm.

cfw

No flames. This is the reality, and what DL completed a year or so ago. The more generous you are giving F seats away (even if it is what we all want), the less revenue you get out of them. Once you are done "optimizing" the back of the plane (7M8), it is time to go after the front. Anecdotally and not scientifically, I believe there is more F availability to buy on DL than AA. However, I would point out that the "price" is generally smaller F pitch, generally smaller seat width, and more E175's.

If you want to extrapolate further, in Europe people regularly pay to simply not have a middle seatmate - we call it business class. I do think USA is different for many reasons, but expect the inevitable convergence.

JonNYC

Keep in mind, surveys like this-- even scarier than this-- go out constantly.

Finsup72

Same...

andersonCooper

So now switching to DL and hoping the (upgrade) line is shorter, great!

*this is how I always line up at the wrong line at my grocery.

enviroian

When people say they are "leaving!" due to potentially losing upgrades I have to chuckle. The old days are gone, it's all about revenue and CPU's/etc are a loss leader to AA, DL, and UA. For anyone to go to another airline for comp upgrades, it's not going to happen.

What matters to me is good award alliance, and as a EXP, SWU availability and redeem-ability. Also up there at the top is getting good coach seats (exit row or bulk head). AA's SDC is so bad it's insulting but that being said the three must have's for me at least are above.

zarkov505

That is a very good point. The vast majority of my flying these days is discretionary: vacation trips to Thailand. Switching to UA would mean I get to ride TG metal, and TG, like JL and CX, takes good care of their customers.

C17PSGR

I like the current system ... AA's last changes drove my behavior. Since I'm at $25k eqd for 2018 ytd (so I'm guessing my annualized spend is $35k or so) and don't live in an AA hub, I'm almost always at the top of this list. This contrasts to before the changes where I would be further down the list because I buy a lot at the last minute.

But ... I've been a bit disloyal the past few weeks since I'm well past requalifying and have been trying Delta and Alaska first which are often just 50-75 more than a coach ticket. Alaska is certainly better than Delta for shorter flights -- haven't decided which of the three are better however for longer flights. This could drive me toward Alaska although that means a lot of heading to the west coast and back.

turkeyRIOO

GLD coach ticket $300, first class ticket $700, would you feel satisfied with offer to purchase first for $600.

PHL

In a way, some of us do pay TOD to upgrade when we run out of our 500 mile certs. Especially Golds and Plats who may not travel super often to pass the thresholds where more are added to the balance. Granted, a <1500 mile flight can be upgraded for $120 or less each way, but it's definitely a revenue stream that they consider in the upgrade model.

FlyinMike

Got the survey as a PLAT (likely dropping to Gold next year). Seemed to focus a lot on asking if I'd be willing to pay more to be upgraded on leisure travel.

Really, MCE is the only tangible benefit for me given my travel patterns, and looks like I won't make PLAT next year, so that will go away as well. I agree - the days of upgrades for all but the highest levels are pretty much done for. I just wish I could use the 500 mile stickers for something.

In the free-form comments section at the end I stated that the upgrade experience is abysmal as a PLAT - either I am #20 on the list or I am in Y with empties up front because I don't want to burn TWO stickers for a 620 mile flight.