Twilight premier?

I saw a shirt yesterday that said, "Vampires don't sparkle" and started cracking up. I should have stopped the guy and asked him where he got it.

I can see this experience being repeated in January.

From a purely selfish perspective, I'd hate to see it happen. Aeroplan is the only FFP I know of that was spun-off. From what I've read on the AC Forum, Aeroplan today is a mere shell of what it once was, pre-spinoff. Now that AC is back on the verge of bankruptcy, it doesn't seem like such a great idea, either.

A buddy system may need to be implemented, if streets are icy.

Yeah, because that worked in PRG. ;) :p

I think those that went down were completely sober at the time. :D

Perhaps we need to invest in some Beer Do curling shoes...

I'm not getting to 20,000 either.

This is going to happen to all programs. It seems like all programs have been devalued over the course of the last several years. DL took platinum and spun it into diamond and managed to get people to believe that it was an enhancement.

There hasn't been a single program that has had a net increase in benefits over the past several years. Don't delude yourself into thinking that CO is exempt for that. I expect this trend will continue until the elites say F-it.

From both vested interest and hopes for future viability of the company, I would hate to see it, as well.

Your latter point is what I meant by "assuming they stay solvent..." There's a lot of uncharted water on this merger's map, and the proceeds of FF sale, however spectacular, could well be just sucked into some cost vortex.

Keeping the cash cow could turn out to be the best move. After all, Qwest was selling a 20th century product - the Yellow Pages - and the FF program is not at the end of its life cycle by any means.

Now, down to work.

Just finished another short-term consulting project (get a few a year) - $150 for 30 minutes of work. An oddity of higher education.

Yes, but there was a dramatic and noticeable deterioration in Aeroplan benefits almost immediately after it was spun off. Long-standing benefits like Instant-KK (upgrade awards for SuperElites) were curtailed drastically.

I'm not sure what the actual relationship between Aeroplan and AC is these days, but would not be surprised to discover that Aeroplan has to pay some amount to AC for Upgrades/other awards. In a private OnePass, I could see such a set up leading to SWUs becoming like DL's useless PMUs.

Also, IMHO, OnePass has improved drastically in the last two years. MMer program, dropping 50% EQM shenanigans, and the approach of SWUs are notable improvements.

Happy Canuckistan Day! :rolleyes:

The oddity is not your rate: that was probably more than fair, and your time more than a half hour, all in. The oddity is the round number. When some of these young lawyers get into private practice, that would be: .6 hr @ 300 = $192.12*

*Rate plus copying, postage and other incidentals.

When I was in the private sector, the company billed me at $187.50 / hour (IIRC).