AA offers TOD “tens of dollars” First Class & Upgrades
Apr 26, 2019, 11:29 am
#1
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AA offers TOD “tens of dollars” First Class & Upgrades
On today's earnings call a question came up regarding an IT improvement going live. The response was that the initiative was "post purchase but pre flight" and involved an upsell of the premium cabin "by the end of May".
Anyone else hear this? It was around 49:15 in the call.
Oh boy............
Anyone else hear this? It was around 49:15 in the call.
Oh boy............
Last edited by IADCAflyer; Apr 26, 2019 at 11:43 am
Apr 26, 2019, 11:31 am
#2
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On today's earnings call a question came up regarding an IT improvement going live. The response was that the initiative was "post purchase but pre flight" and involved an upsell of the premium cabin "by the end of May".
Anyone else hear this? It was around 49:15 in the call.
Oh boy............
Anyone else hear this? It was around 49:15 in the call.
Oh boy............
Called this one a while ago
LOL
Apr 26, 2019, 11:42 am
#6
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Apr 26, 2019, 11:45 am
#7
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Apr 26, 2019, 11:47 am
#8
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Apr 26, 2019, 11:58 am
#9
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There’s little question that upgrades are harder than they were 5 years ago and 10 years ago.
- Airlines are selling discounted first class fares far more than they ever used to.
- Airlines are making aggressive buy up offers to first class.
- The economy is doing better than it was (hey, the Federal Reserve even raised interest rates!)
- 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.
- 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.
- All of these things combine to depress your upgrade percentage.
Apr 26, 2019, 12:22 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Austin, TX - AUS
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This "upsell" could simply be the fare difference between what people paid and the current premium cabin price. Right now, people have to call AA to upfare to a premium cabin after booking. Maybe AA will start offering upfare option online after booking a ticket.
Apr 26, 2019, 1:23 pm
#11
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Since upgrades are seldom predictable I'm on board with this. I frequently buy up now when the price is right on other airlines. I have been waiting for AA to launch this.
Apr 26, 2019, 1:39 pm
#12
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Apr 26, 2019, 1:45 pm
#13
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Exactly. Plenty of people, myself included, are willing to selectively upfare an employer purchased ticket out of pocket. Very easy to do on UA, for example. Yes, another blow to top tier elites but a win for those of us below EXP who never have a regular shot at F anyhow.
Apr 26, 2019, 1:48 pm
#14
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Yes, this has been in the works for a bit. My understanding is they are going to implement a way to upfare the ticket without impacting the underlying ticket. I'm curious if/how this ends up being the case.
Regardless, upgrades have been worthless for a while. I just upfare on any flight over 2.5 hours. It's far easier than playing upgrade roulette, is usually a reasonable price, and is a lot less stress and hassle. Worth every penny to me.
Regardless, upgrades have been worthless for a while. I just upfare on any flight over 2.5 hours. It's far easier than playing upgrade roulette, is usually a reasonable price, and is a lot less stress and hassle. Worth every penny to me.
Apr 26, 2019, 1:50 pm
#15
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
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It is pretty clear as a bystander that AA really only cares about two customer segments: the high value exec or rock star who buys F out of pocket on a regular basis, and the one off flyer that it can incrementally monetize. AA's actions seem to indicate that it views the common road warrior as a high cost to serve, low margin hassle (and I say that as one of those myself).