scubadu

And yet... there seem to be more loyalty members and more full planes than ever...

Regards

thelark

beachfan

mountain flyer

My company's preferred airline is Delta, so I go out of my way to fly American. I'm already on the edge, so taking away the upgrades (either) would push me over. It probably isn't greener, but would be easier. F

embarcadero1

OK, I get it

I think you're right. To the extent that I have a message at all for AA, that message is this: your bean counters have already wrung the value out of your loyalty scheme. While there is some marginal benefit to being able to use the first class check-in at Heathrow when flying business, AA's mileage program already took away everything that could have made me loyal. Their customer service is appalling, their domestic first a joke and they can't even remember my phone number when I call. They've turned their airline into something that might pass for an alternative sentencing program (okay, slight exaggeration).

I can't think of a reason to choose AA except where my choices are totally constrained and unappealing. In that narrow case, the minor level of recognition that AA hands out to people like me is worth something, however little it turns out to be.

I want AA management to hear it: for a high revenue traveler (last year, it was about $40K on AA; my partner and I spent closer to $60) there's no further value to cut from this program. Chop away at benefits, but don't be surprised when I'm loyal only to American Express or Nordstrom.

BTW, I flew Air Canada's new business class from NYC to SYD. it's really outstanding. And at under $5K, it was a decent fare for a leisure trip (I realize how lucky I am to say that, but AA needs to up their game). I won't go near United unless snowballs freeze in hell, but AC is better than it used to be, at least up front.

Spanish

More importantly, it would increase the chances that an F seat is available when I mis-connect due to a late flight. I'm non-hub based, so always connecting.

Sick and tired of getting downgraded when you just know that F is full because of upgrades! It's infuriating... They need to push upgrades to boarding time. 3 times in the last 3 trips.

rfrost

I did not get the survey.

This thread just confirms my decision to give up on EXP next year. I have LT Plat and I plan to keep my BAEC Gold status, so should be okay when I need to fly AA. I do relatively little domestic flying nowadays; I'll probably use B6 or maybe DL for most of it.

jmr50

I didn't get the survey. Multi-year EXP, but the number of times I have purchased Y on a flight with F is near zero so I rarely experience UDUs. At this point, AA is down to about 70% of my flying as I switch to whomever has better times, non-stop routes, or a marginally better aircraft. As a NY-based traveler, AA, B6, and DL all are viable choices on most transcon routes. And for mid-con routes they all tend to suck, but some suck with a connection vs. without. AA seems determined to wring the last shred of value out of EXP, which wrings the last drop of loyalty out of me.

ajwMiami

I seriously think this is an edge case and very bad luck. Most flights seem to hold at least 1 seat for gate upgrades (unless someone else purchases it within T-24).

UAPremierGuy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe LAA typically held back 2 seats in F (unless all were sold) until the gate. This was great for mis-connects, and alleviated many of the problems posters have posted above. I believe AA should go back to this system. As an LAA EXP, despite mis-connects/OSO, I was still able to keep my seat in F, which was a HUGE selling point for me on AA irrops and maintaining status versus my experience at UA.

MikeShores

I think giving options for what benefits YOU want for your status would be a huge step forward. We all know one size does not fit all, and that is even more obvious looking at the comments above. Delta already does a little of this "Choose your adventure" idea, and I think if AA were to implement something like that...where YOU had a choice of what kind of upgrades you wanted (i.e. 4 SWU's if available OR 2 SWU confirm at booking) it would be a tremendous step forward. As a multi-year plat staring firmly at pro for this year, all of my travel is for business, all of my travel is domestic, all of my travel is booked <14 days out, and all of it HAS to be booked in Y. That said, domestic upgrades are a valuable benefit, and even flying out of AUS and through DFW, I have been somewhat successful at getting the upgrades. I have also bought-up to first after the initial purchase. THIS is what I most wish American would change...I want to be able to do that transaction online...and I want more visibility of it...like United does. When you go into a reservation on United, if there are seats up front, it gives you an offer (any time prior to departure) presumably to buy up to the lowest available F (or J) fare. To upfare an AA res, you HAVE to call. You can change online (if it even lets you choose the right flights ---often it doesnt) but you're also on the hook for a $200 change fee.

For me, the MCE at booking is very important, and the recently implemented drink policy in MCE carries a lot of sway with me.

I'm not sure that I would want everyone to have UDU. Maybe keep UDU for EXP, then let plat and pro decided UDU or 10 one-way upgrade confirmations and then keep gold with 500's.

3Cforme

I don't believe the metric AA wants to report is your specific success or failure rate. Delta started reporting the fraction of F cabin that is paid, and has announced a near term target of 70%. UA thought their fraction - a bit behind Delta, and no target stated - was good enough to report, too. If AA isn't reporting it, it's because it lags its competitors. Call me a cynic.

3Cforme

Duplicate

AANYC1981

no survey for me

dave_261

View from the Wing posted the italicized commentary below 3 years ago, and it's 100% true today. https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea...5/12/17/42581/

Bottom line is that the airlines are trying to sell first class. This is no longer a loyalty play which will = revenue over time... it's a direct revenue play. And if the Big 3 all share this strategy, they are betting that nobody will defect, and if you do decide to defect from AA, someone will defect from DL/UA over to AA. It's also clear that they are looking at PE and MCE as definite improvements to the coach experience, and likely will be using those cabins (with enhanced benefits and more comfort than traditional coach) as the loyalty incentive as F class becomes more elusive.

There’s little question that upgrades are harder than they were 5 years ago and 10 years ago.

1. Airlines are selling discounted first class fares far more than they ever used to.
2. Airlines are making aggressive buy up offers to first class.
3. The economy is doing better than it was (hey, the Federal Reserve even raised interest rates!)
4. Airlines aren’t expanding as quickly as they used to. As air travel grows, and airlines ‘practice capacity discipline’, there’s more demand for a dwindling number of available upgrade seats.
5. Lots of people confirm their upgrades in advance – in part because of all the miles that are out there, and in part because of how tough the competition is