channa

Try flying SFO-EWR. That flight averages one Elite upgrade per flight, period. Unless you're the one lucky full-fare Plat, you pretty much have no shot whatsoever.

I think what people are asking for is a bit of recognition. The program used to give Plats 90%+ upgrades. Heck, years ago as Silver, I got 70% upgrades. Today as Plat, I'm doing worse -- hovering in the low 60%'s. What's sad is that's actually better than some.

A bit of recognition or a free drink when in coach would go a long way. Little things like blocking middle seats next to Elites (instead of filling them first with standbys) would make the Elite feel more valued and go a long way.

They're going in the right direction with the Elite line. The staff there say they appreciate your business when you end the call.

Jaimito Cartero

Continental gives EUAs? Lately?

coplatua1k

This is exactly the case. I often times buy tickets a day or two ahead of time and even if I want to PAY for F its GONE. I called HQ to voice my concern and they actually looked and confirmed this has happened all though its based on history of tickets its not right.
NO kick outs just HOLD back some seats for higher revenue people until day of departure.

CO 1E

It seems, at least in my experience, that CO holds back fewer seats from EUA ex-CLE than out of EWR/IAH - that may be why you keep finding yourself in that situation. Although, it is not uncommon for transcons or IAH-West Coast flights at peak times to sell out in F even before the Plat window opens.

channa

Are you sure it's EUA that has run? I've seen some flights ex-SFO that sell out in F outside the EUA window, so people are paying for them.

CLEHillbilly

Thanks for the reply, I actually do not care too much about the 50% EQMs since I am never going to use them for a free flight, I just happened to notice I had allot of those during the month of September and added that gripe.

I will be moving my travel elsewhere next year as you suggest, CO is going to lose my companies travel $$ and my loyalty as I will fly bare minimum with them after March 2007.

A simple thank you from CO is obviously not worth another 100k in airline fares to CO after passing the 75K mark. Maybe CO thinks some flyers are flying 200-300K a year with them....I find that highly unlikely.

chasbondy

I was thinking that if they charged a fare and you bought it and flew, then nobody owes nobody nuthin. But, if there is small print that says you deserve to get your butt kissed on top of that, I'd like to see it??

CLEHillbilly

Not that your comment even deserves a response but if your a company looking for gaining more revenue then your top customers deserve something, since they are continuing to feed that revenue stream, even if its just an email thank you.

When you buy your daily starbucks at the same spot everyday (rain or snow) I am sure the manager there notices you're a regular and says thank you or at least speaks to you? Or is that kind of "butt kissing" written into the starbucks manual?

Dont even bother with a reply, I can see your not into enlightening the discussion I tried to open up.

Thanks

Lemurs

Looks like someone rebooted the chasbondybot.

The more I think about this, the more curious (and intractable) it becomes. EUA is essentially a way of giving FFers something for nothing. The seat was going to takeoff, climb to 36,000 ft, cruise at mach 0.78, and land at the destination...regardless if there was a butt in the seat or not. Since there isn't one that was purchased, it makes a fantastic loyalty gift.

The problem is, if you manage your capacity and pricing correctly, you make EUA a rare creature, espcially on your most popular and profitable routes. Everyone seems to agree that at this point, CO has gotten their FC:Elites:LoadFactor ratios to an enviable position, if you are doing accounting. If you are doing the flying and got used to the previous world order though, you lose out on the #1 benefit to your loyalty.

The question is, how do you replace that reward in a simple fashion while keeping the costs free or as near to free as you can manage? The best suggestions I have seen so far is the free drink idea. The plane is going to carry the drinks anyway, so might as well give one away. A tiny bit of lost revenue, but no big deal. It doesn't work for everyone of course (lots of dry people out there), but it's better than nothing. Other than that though, how do you make up for the loss of EUA at a zero sum level?

The problem is of course, that CO wants it to be zero-sum. The easiest and most popular ways would cost some revenue, either directly or through lost opportunity. (Increased award availability for the various Elite levels is the most obvious one.) The question then becomes: Is losing Elites because of the very low value of the program a reality, or just talk? I assume they keep a very close eye on these numbers, and have found that so far it's just talk.

BenjaminNYC

Agree 100%. Don't know what the OP is looking for...

Lemurs

Is it really that confusing, or are you just being obtuse? He's asking where the value in a customer loyalty program is when the main benefit becomes virtually impossible to recieve on a regular basis. The point of a loyalty program is to provide tangible or intangible (percieved) benefits to a regular customer that will tip a decision making process in your favor.

If product/service A and B are very close based on major factors like price, availability, etc...the minor factors can and do decide where the money goes. If your loyalty program offers virtually no reward for loyalty, those decisions will start falling out in favor of the other product/service on a more regular basis.

This is not rocket science. Dismissing it as whining or being condescending to people who express dissatisfaction is just childish. The fact that people care enough to talk about it shows how successful the loyalty program has been in generating goodwill. In most other industries, people would simply walk away to the better choice without a second though.

CO 1E

Yes, but will a form letter from Larry Kellner at the end of the year thanking each Plat for his/her business make up for being crammed in coach with few EUA's for 75k+ BIS miles? I think offering more tangible benefits, like new seats in coach or blocking the middle seats next to elites would go a lot further.

Catbert10

I agree 100% with Lemur. Loyalty works both ways. If CO wants to keep the loyalty of their elites, then CO needs to show loyalty in return. The people who always purchase F or Yups don't really have the same kind of loyalty to CO. Once a better product comes around, or flying patterns change, they'll walk to another airline in a flash, without so much as a glance back. The Elite who wants to sit up front because of their BIS miles, however, has invested a lot of time and money with a particular product. Once they leave, they'll invest the same kind of loyalty with another airline, and it will be darn near impossible for CO to bring them back. It make take a few years, but CO will rue the day that they devalued the Elite program so far that a Plat such as myself feels lucky to be running a 50% upgrade rate.

Lemurs

Well, you probably agree with me about 75%...because I realize that having too high an EUA rate is not good for the company in the long run. It still represents lost revenue. Adding more FC seats because you know you can't sell them and they'll become EUA seats is a terrible idea. Pricing the FC seats way above your competition means you'll never sell those seats, ever...which is a bad idea. Actively reducing the amount of EQM's given out is already universally unpopular (see: Dozens of "50% EQM for non CO.com bookings" threads)...so that's another bad idea.

They've boxed themselves into a corner by getting exactly what they aimed for and wanted. They've convinced large numbers of business travelers that their product is the way to go, and thusly they seem to have huge Elite ranks as compared to many other airlines. (As a ratio of total pax carried) It's a position that most airlines would kill to be in. Their problem not necessarily that their big benefit has become a rare creature...again, it seems like that is their ideal...it's that they have replaced it with NOTHING. Not even a poor substitute, or a small gesture. It's simply been reduced over time. THAT is the problem in the long run.

Jaimito Cartero

No one will be using EQMs for free flights, since they're Elite Qualifying Miles. These are how you get up to the 25k, 50k or 75k elite threshholds.