I like Ed, but I certainly can't agree with his conclusion, "In short, the AAdvantage folks are still there, still listening, and still improving".

These type of actions from AA remind me too much of how things radically changed when NW and DL merged. I can guarantee that this isn't the last devaluation we'll see from them. For Ms. Rubin to think that FF's wouldn't be upset with the changes is unbelievable.

I too found it unbelievable at first but then I thought about it more and a bit differently. Now, I don't find it unbelievable that Rubin expected way less and less concentrated criticism of the changes that hit this month. Keep in mind that she knows AA got away with major reductions in MileSAAver space on AA metal last year without giving any notice (advance or otherwise) and that restriction on MileSAAver space was barely noticed and didn't even generate massive and concentrated complaints despite it being a change that hits far more AA customers. Like with criminals, once they get away with it, they are less reluctant to try again. The worst is almost certainly yet to come.

Groupthink is alive and well.

Example: Prior to the announcement of the revenue-based Rapid Rewards, which Southwest had told everyone was coming soon, I asked Gary Kelly in person not to sugar coat the announcement but to tell it straight, good and bad. That advice was ignored. Yet when Southwest announced a devaluation of points about 8 months ago, the email announcing the change was a model of straight talk. That made it much the bad news easier to swallow. Perhaps Southwest has learned, or maybe it's just a question of which executive is deciding on the wording.

And some commenters are still calling me out for coining that term. Listen, in this space you are darned if you do and darned if you don't.

I get that perhaps the stopover loophole was being exploited and needed to be shutdown without warning. Being able to change 2 peak awards that would cost 52.5K into a single 20K off-peak award with a 6 month stopover was just ridiculous. Though it would have been nice to still allow stopovers of up to a week or 2.

But taking away the OneWorld chart without warning? Plenty of folks were saving up for that and to not even allow a short grace period is arguably worse than the UA changes which were at least done with several months warning.


Suzanne is shocked that people are mad over overnight wholesale changes? And that they spun their emails to only report the "good".
:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes: is all I can say because there is no vomiting emoticon.

It's neat that these guys are rubbing shoulders with the program managers.

But it does appear to cloud their judgement.

USdbaAA has taken the first step on the COdbaUA and DLdbaDL path.

Doug Parker doesn't give a crap about what Suzanne Rubin thinks about the future of AA or AAdvantage unless Suzanne thinks AA ought to monetize every interaction and moment that a customer touches AA and that AAdvantage needs to increase revenue while devaluing liabilities (miles and benefits).

So it's great that Rubin sought out Ed to chat. I'm sure it made him feel very special. And it's great that she 'owns' the feedback from customers. BUT:

Some will say that, yes. And they will be correct.

Because AAdvantage will be 'improving.' But not for customers. Only for AA and its bottom line.

It's a double edged sword for me - I'm both a bottom tier elite and a stockholder (pre-merger, both airlines). On one hand, I love how US treated its 25k tier - better than any other airline, and Doug Parker was running that one too. On the other hand, I probably see more in my portfolio the more the "new" AA moves away from the old "AA" - after all, both airlines went bankrupt, so something had to change.

FWIW, I ignore the blog "analysis" now, and instead expect the worst and plan for it. Earn and burn. I'm not worried about elite requalifying on AA/US, either. I'll take one last shot at the elite game, I matched out to AS. The plan now is to requalify as AS MVP until they significantly cut benefits. Then I'll just fly the lowest fare and use credit card earned miles for premium cabins when warranted.

I agree with you... in any case, the proof will be in the pudding. I don't know how anyone can conclude that the AAdvantage folks are "still improving" when AAdvantage hasn't produced any concrete public evidence of either actual improvements or at the least, better management and rollout of devaluations. In fact "still" improving seems to imply some improvement has been happening in the past, and that's a joke.

Good way to look at things...and generally this is kind of my approach right now too

I've been doing exactly that for 15 years. I commute weekly on Southwest and I spend only about $6000 per year total on air tickets.

I've owned airline stock twice. Both times the airline went into bankruptcy and my investment was lost.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me three times, no sirree! :D


BTW, FWIW, looks like Gary is gnashing his teeth over having accepted a comped elite status from Hilton. Which reminds me of that old joke with the punchline: 'We've established what you are, madam, now we are haggling over the price' ;)

Unfair. I have personally witnessed Gary turning down offers because he does not want to be beholden to any brand. He's very stringent about this. That's why he gives away 100% of what he is gifted on his blog, and he makes that very clear to providers. His integrity is very high on this point.

Right, but some might argue that integrity also includes not helping an airline gain good publicity by giving their stuff away right after they devalued their program. It could include not generating positive buzz for a brand when many of his readers are unhappy about the way those changes were communicated and implemented.

Don't worry, it's not a long term holding :D

I dunno. He TOOK the gold.

But then I suppose he DID feel guilty about it and confessed, taking his penance in his comments section.

The catholic in me wants to absolve him. :)

Hilton imposed the gold on him. He had no part in that action. Today, he asked Hilton to return him to silver. They have done so.