I have no insider info so I don't know. But there's no point of creating a PPS-like program without providing extra benefits if they are going to keep the current qualification criteria for AM elites. A dedicated lounge is just one possible extra benefits it could be something else though like whatever recent DM undocumented benefits cut.

Well I was thinking about the real estate situation in HKG...where can CX build a new lounge without cannibalising existing lounge space?

I can't even imagine them roping off a section of existing J space and calling it Asia Miles Gold/non-CX OWE.

Perhaps CX won't change lounge admittance, sell it to the continuing DMs (future Titaniums) as reduction of users in theory but in practice the discarded DMs will become AA OWEs and still have access.

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Also I doubt there will be a 100% take up of discarded DMs by AA and other OW FFP...only those who still want their Haven food and are aware of this arbitrage. Maybe CX hopes for some savings there.

Has the old QF J lounge been taken yet?

Ah good suggestion...

Wing First Lounge Dragon: "You're guilty of trespassing" Motions to security "Take him down..."

Rumor said CX is changing The MPC, T or F?
 

Some rumor said CX is cutting cost by having a revolution on The MPC
include cutting lounge access on Sliver
Cutting the MPC check in counter
Cutting the boarding priority on Sliver and Green

Rumor also said CX's CEO has mentioned the revolution will be start from 2015

Just wanted to know is that for real?

All beneficial things imo. The level of benefits for Silvers is out of sync with the rest of Oneworld, whilst Gold/DM is harder to achieve than their equivalent Sapphire/Emerald levels with very little incentive to fly premium cabins.

oneworld Ruby doesn't have lounge access across the board though, so I suppose Silver shouldn't get it either?

Having *O status doesn't get you lounge access across the board either, so now we should all be paying for lounge memberships?

Just curious, who ended up taking the spot for the old JAL lounge from a few years back. I haven't been there in a long while. It was a huge space as I remember.

wow, so OW has been reduced to "who can offer the crappiest benefits" now?

FFP's should reward those who spend the most and are most loyal to the airline. CX has it upside down imo. As I have said, its too hard to reach the upper tiers and too easy for the occasional flyer to get benefits like priority lanes and lounge access (which then negatively impacts the upper tiers).

Says you (and other DYKWIAs here), that may not be the best economic of a philosophy (as many people have posted otherwise)

If the problem is low-end (SL, GR), why punish the high-end (DM, GO)?

OWS / OWE give you access to OW lounges where CX SL is restricted to CX lounges while flying CX, that is a massive difference. If you check my previous post, SL Y flyers will be paying a lot more for V+ fare instead of the deep discount ticket, I don't really find CX Y flyers are getting more than what they deserve. (Seriously GBP +3xx for lounge access, priority lane and J check-in...that is a lot of $$)

Given SLs only enjoy a lot of benefit while flying CX, you would be surprise how loyal these SLs are, as they simply would not flyer other airlines unless they have no choice.


I second that, if J/F really are that profitable, and so profitable that they can just "banish" Y flyers, why not just make aircraft with J/F Seats only,or at least make Y/PY marginal, say occupying only 20% of the aircraft?

This is because a profitable Y is still vital to an airline's profitability, CX is no exception, on a 77H, Y and PY still occupy around 50% of the space, that just says how important Y and PY is.

Not to mention CX is charging these Y flyers a lot more for their V+ qualifying Y flight.

These people are just comparing individual differences: "I pay $6000, you only pay $1500, so shut your mouth, I'm 4 times more important to CX than you ever will be!" Instead of looking at segment by segment (premium fliers as a whole vs. Y market as a whole), and the demands and supply from each market segment (Y market is a growing market both for price and quantity, premium market is a matured market that is stagnant both in price and quantity).

Again, as so much evidence, any airlines in the past that tried to go the route of premium-only inevitably ended up losing money and trash the idea. But airlines that goes for the Y market are very profitable and growing rapidly.

FFP is a good way to get people to fly Y at very high prices (i.e. higher margins of profits). If a cheapo airline can turn a profit selling dirt cheap tickets, imagine what an airline like CX can do that convinces people to pay higher V+ fares and only fly with them?

But unfortunately, it seems like some CX management are also blinded to this big picture, and are only making micro-comparisons: premium fliers pays 4 times more than Y fliers! Forget the Y fliers! Yeah, forget your profit margins too....