What's your "loyalty" price max?

Old May 24, 2011, 8:45 am
  #16  
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Originally Posted by mapsgl
I am a DTW hub captive GM that needs to do a same day turn around for an 11:00 -12:00 business meeting in Midtown June 15.

I like Delta, hope to maximize my MQM's, but loyalty has a breaking point.

non stop Tickets on my dates on DL are 1,159.40 (B) fare. I ended up buy tickets on NK for 220. This price included their Big Front Seat, to LGA and exit row back to DTW.

I have factored in all of the problemsI expect on a NK flight, but I can't pull the trigger on an $900 difference.

I am willing to pay more in DL. Probably double ln this case, but four times!!!

I am curious where people draw the line.

Maps
First... never, never trust DL to get you to your destination on time, on the day of an important meeting.

Second... DL management are doing their best to pillage folks on non-stops into and out of DTW.

I agree that airfares have been too low for too long, but trying to make up the difference on a single ticket is a bit extreme.

My last experience on a PHL-DTW-PHL itinerary started out with an offered fare of over $800 (US and DL being the only airlines offering nonstops in that market, and matching each other, of course).

I waited a week or so, and someone blinked... price dropped to about $250 RT, and I grabbed it.

Curious now, I checked the week before the flight. Price was back up to about $1400.

IIRC, the price dropped again just a few days before departure.
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Old May 24, 2011, 9:04 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by Buccaneeratheart
... the imagined benefit of non-stop flights.
Imagined????

Is having half the chance that your flight will be canceled imagined? (Two flights means twice the chance of a problem versus one flight, doesn't it?)

Is the time saved not having to land, disembark, wait for your next flight, and get back in the air not real? Silly me, thinking that getting home at 9:00 pm versus getting home at 11:30 pm wasn't tangible.

Is the chance of missing a connection versus not having to worry about the flight getting in late because it's my destination not real? Considering all the people I constantly hear on planes worrying about tight connections, it's hard to believe that benefit is imagined.

If I weren't flying a couple hundred flights a year, I might understand looking at non-direct the same as direct, but given my reality, direct has definite benefit.

To answer the OP's question - $100 for loyalty, and $100 per segment for direct versus non-direct. It's in our corporate travel policies. If AAA-BBB is more than $100 less on a specific airline, I need to fly that airline. If AAA-BBB-CCC is $200 less than AAA-CCC on another airline, the connecting flights win. Luckily, usually the connecting flights originate earlier than I'm done for the day in AAA. By documenting this, I can take the more expensive, direct flight without violating our travel policies.
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Old May 24, 2011, 9:19 am
  #18  
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I am surprised DL is that much more than NK. I am flying DTW/MDW for the holiday this weekend, and priced southwest as well, and for that short of a route WN was over $150 more, so even if the kettles had to pay the $25 each way to check a bag they are better off on DL than WN. Last couple trips that I have booked on DL when I knew WN flew the same route, I have checked WN's site as well out of curousity, and DL is always cheaper and Direct.

Make sure to allow extra time than you normally do out of DTW if you are on NK. Last couple times I have taken WN the lines at the north terminal have been long.
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Old May 24, 2011, 10:27 am
  #19  
 
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Until recently, I would pay around $100 extra on DL for short trips (or flights without an FC cabin) and around $200 for longer domestic trips with FC cabins. However, my loyalty for DL is waning* and now, decisions are on a case-by-case basis, with cost and flight times being equally considered.

Also, when there is such a price discrepancy among carriers, I'll look at nearby departure cities (for example, FNT).

*Two reasons: Inability to redeem award itineraries at low mileage levels and poor international SWU program.
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Old May 24, 2011, 11:49 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by OHDL1
Hmmm...interesting that you waste your time commenting on an airline you, and your clients don't even fly.
I just flew Vison Airlines because of the hurge price difference in fairs (@69 vesus $450) and it wasnt half bad. Delta is a nicer airline but for a short segment flight I cant complain.
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Old May 24, 2011, 3:10 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by CJKatl
To answer the OP's question - $100 for loyalty, and $100 per segment for direct versus non-direct. It's in our corporate travel policies. If AAA-BBB is more than $100 less on a specific airline, I need to fly that airline. If AAA-BBB-CCC is $200 less than AAA-CCC on another airline, the connecting flights win. Luckily, usually the connecting flights originate earlier than I'm done for the day in AAA. By documenting this, I can take the more expensive, direct flight without violating our travel policies.
On business: We don't have a specified travel policy, but the situations described in the quote above are about what I can "get away with" when spending company $$. The company recognizes the benefits to flying me on an airline where I have status and they will allow a bit of extra expense for me to fly DL without kicking up a big ol' beancounting fuss.

On personal travel, my loyalty buffer zone is about 20% above the lowest ticket price offered by another carrier -- BUT, I wouldn't pay that premium on every trip. I'll do it occasionally. Last fall there was a period of time when FL was consistently beating DL on some routes and I sucked it up and flew FL a couple times. (That was before I figured out that on Tuesdays DL usually drops their price to match FLs. At least that was the pattern throughout the late fall, winter, and spring for the route I was interested in flying.)
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Old May 24, 2011, 3:19 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by MFMeow
On business: We don't have a specified travel policy, but the situations described in the quote above are about what I can "get away with" when spending company $$. The company recognizes the benefits to flying me on an airline where I have status and they will allow a bit of extra expense for me to fly DL without kicking up a big ol' beancounting fuss.

On personal travel, my loyalty buffer zone is about 20% above the lowest ticket price offered by another carrier -- BUT, I wouldn't pay that premium on every trip. I'll do it occasionally. Last fall there was a period of time when FL was consistently beating DL on some routes and I sucked it up and flew FL a couple times. (That was before I figured out that on Tuesdays DL usually drops their price to match FLs. At least that was the pattern throughout the late fall, winter, and spring for the route I was interested in flying.)
This suggests that even your company's threshold should be something (perhaps significantly) less than 20%. Honestly, if you aren't willing to pay the premium for your personal travel, then it isn't important enough for your business travel. Call it beancounting, but companies should only pay the premium when there is a documentable advantage (for the company) to flying carrier x over carrier y. If you wouldn't shell out your own money, then your company shouldn't either. Choosing a carrier for business when you wouldn't for personal travel is unethical.

Last edited by pbarnette; May 24, 2011 at 3:25 pm
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Old May 25, 2011, 5:30 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by Buccaneeratheart
...None of us, all former DM's, fly DL anymore...
Originally Posted by OHDL1
Hmmm...interesting that you waste your time commenting on an airline you, and your clients don't even fly.
We all have an axe to grind, but Buccaneeratheart's is very very sharp
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Old May 25, 2011, 4:06 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by Ximian
Exactly this, most of the time. I also consider direct flight or not, along with departure\arrival times. Well-timed flights have higher preference than airline loyalty, even if DL is cheaper.

WN flights are automatically ignored and FL only if there are no other options.
Why do you ignore WN? Pay an extra $10 for early boarding, snag an aisle seat... what is the horror that you attach to WN?

And, oh, by the way, if you need or want to change your flight, they don't skim a buck fifty off of you either!
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Old May 25, 2011, 4:43 pm
  #25  
 
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For a couple of decades I was loyal to NWA. The benefits of loyalty to DL are too much of a moving target, but currently I think:

- Upgrades are few and far between for PM (and even some DM routes) and almost non-existent for GM. $0

- Seat selection back in Y may be most worthwhile benefit left. $25 dom, $100 Int'l (EC worth a bit more)

- Board early to get bin space? $25

- Access to Hibbing elite line (when you can get them). $25

- Elite security lines aren't worth it because TSA makes sure they go slower than non-elite security lines (as they laugh at the lemmings in the elite line who won't even check out the other speedier checkpoints - because they are after all, elites). $5 (in case the line actually is better somewhere)

- Reduced luggage (and other) fees get calc'd in to the cost of the fare when I'm comparing. $x

- Various other benefits (SDC, non-Hibbing elite line services, etc.) $10

This is assuming all else fairly equal (similar flight plans, number of stops, flight times to my liking, where layovers are, etc.). On Int'l I'll pay more to connect in AMS or FRA than LHR or CDG, in U.S. I'll pay more to avoid ATL and JFK.
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Old May 25, 2011, 5:14 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by RobertS975
Why do you ignore WN? Pay an extra $10 for early boarding, snag an aisle seat... what is the horror that you attach to WN?

And, oh, by the way, if you need or want to change your flight, they don't skim a buck fifty off of you either!
The casual traveller irritates me more than the DYKWIA type and flying WN out of MSP is nowhere near ideal.
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Old May 25, 2011, 9:03 pm
  #27  
 
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A lot, have had bad experience with every other airline I have been on.

Ended up on Tower once (2 weeks before they went out of business) and it was the poorest run airline ever, the flight was overbooked by 3 or 4 times the aircraft's capacity, and they were still selling tickets, flight was first delayed 2 hours and then they called boarding and got everyone through security (you went through security at boarding time) and lined up then we were delayed even more because they were cleaning the plane. Next was when we got on board the movie was broken and it took the crew the whole flight to get everyone's drink served, they whispered to each other about each and every passenger as they served drinks, serving them in the order of people they liked. On the same trip we were on a US flight which almost crashed in a near miss and getting no acknowledgment from the crew and passengers were even hushed when the asked the crew what happened. I was a kid at the time and it took quite a few years before we flew again after this. Was on US another time (group travel I did not book it) and encountered the rudest FA of all time. Started flying DL and can say even for some one who dose not fly a lot they treat you well. FAs have always been nice, good Biskoff cookies, if there is a delay they tell you why and keep you up to date, and easy to earn miles that do not expire or force you to take a flight every year. Another big plus is that they go where I am going most of the time (ATL), when I use to check them next to Air Tran the price was cheaper by the time you paid for a seat and what ever other charges they would add on, I would not fly on Air Tran now that they are part of Southwest (ethical reasons).
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