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Old Sep 23, 2008, 10:03 am
  #1  
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Important Customer List

Hello,

today I was flying Lufthansa and had the chance to see on one trolley these Important customer list. All important customer on board of these flight are listed on these paper with status, name and seat. So I also have a small status "FTL", but I can not found my name on these list. But other FTLs and SENs I could found. Even people without status are on these list. So my question is: How is this list created? How is the logic beyond? Why are some names on the list and not all people on board with status?

Thank you!

Best regards
Hotfire
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Old Sep 23, 2008, 11:20 am
  #2  
 
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The list is called a Purser Information List, or PIL (pronounced "Pill"). This lists shows all status passengers, as you noted. The PIL also lists all the passengers sitting in First and Business Class, passengers who have ordered special meals, and passengers who may need assistance (such as wheelchairs). The list is provided to the purser just before the door is closed, and is usually split up and given to the cabin attendant who is working a particular section (for instance, M class attendants will receive the M class portion of the list, etc).

In regard to your status not being on the list, there could be a number of factors. Was your status not put on until you were in the lounge or at the gate? It is possible that the list was printed prior to your status being entered, in which case a new list should have been printed. I for instance don't print my list until the majority of my premium passengers are aboard to ensure accuracy.

Last edited by neo16287; Sep 23, 2008 at 11:22 am Reason: answered question which I had forgotten
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Old Sep 23, 2008, 1:07 pm
  #3  
 
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Originally Posted by neo16287
The list is called a Purser Information List, or PIL (pronounced "Pill"). This lists shows all status passengers, as you noted. The PIL also lists all the passengers sitting in First and Business Class, passengers who have ordered special meals, and passengers who may need assistance (such as wheelchairs).
Neo: unfortunately this is not quite correct. The whole manifest has an additional section called important customers. These are HON Circle and other passengers considered important by LH. E.g. When I flew with Kohl a year ago, he was on the list - though I think no one needed the list to know it.

Other persons I have seen on the list were Schremp and other CEOs ...
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Old Sep 23, 2008, 4:09 pm
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Originally Posted by roundtheworld
When I flew with Kohl a year ago, he was on the list - though I think no one needed the list to know it....
Who?
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Old Sep 23, 2008, 4:27 pm
  #5  
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Helmut Kohl used to travel quite a bit on C9 from TXL to MHG (always looked like he had two seats booked due to him being a "person of size")... I doubt C9 was capable of printing any kind of status list, as they are not even able to handle FTL,SEN or HON on the BPs ... Any status just shows up as M/M ...
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Old Sep 23, 2008, 9:29 pm
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by roundtheworld
Neo: unfortunately this is not quite correct. The whole manifest has an additional section called important customers. These are HON Circle and other passengers considered important by LH. E.g. When I flew with Kohl a year ago, he was on the list - though I think no one needed the list to know it.

Other persons I have seen on the list were Schremp and other CEOs ...
Hmm. I have literally printed hundreds of PILs and have never seen such a section like that before. Including the VIPs I have encountered. What stations were you flying between?
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 1:11 am
  #7  
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But the important question is, how LH calculates the TOP 15 customers on board ?
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 6:26 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by szg
But the important question is, how LH calculates the TOP 15 customers on board ?
No, the really important question is: Why are you always on it?
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 6:35 am
  #9  
szg
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Originally Posted by flysurfer
No, the really important question is: Why are you always on it?
You are right ! How does it work, that I am always on this list ?
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 6:46 am
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When I get to the office today I'm going to look around in the SSR list and see if theres any way to denote a VIP. But the only notations I have seen on my PILS are: (ex. for F/CL; the C and M notations are the same) "F-Class (list all pax and status)", "*G (all Star Gold)", "*S (all Star Silver)", "SPML (special meal if app.)", "WCHR (wheelchair pax)", and "ID (ID/AD pax)". If it exists, I'll find it. Will advise...

Last edited by neo16287; Sep 24, 2008 at 6:46 am Reason: identified C and M notations
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 7:32 am
  #11  
 
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On my last TATL flight (op-uped from Y to C), my IFE did not work. Just having been upgraded, I didn't bother, but nonetheless informed the FA. The FA said "Of course, Dr. Vroom, we're going to fix this at once -- after all, you are one of our most important customers on this flight". After stating my disbelief (hey, I'm just a lowly FTL, and there must have been a number of far more "important customers" in C and F), she showed me a paper list with 12 names or so on it, and indeed, there was my name.

I don't know how I got on this list; I had flown a lot this year already, and Lufthansa may have expected me to get SEN status soon. Or Lufthansa confused me with somebody famous and, well, "important." Or it may just be that on this Summer weekend flight, few other passengers had any status at all. Anyway, I guess I was just lucky and enjoyed the flight.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 8:07 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by Jack Vroom
On my last TATL flight (op-uped from Y to C), my IFE did not work. Just having been upgraded, I didn't bother, but nonetheless informed the FA. The FA said "Of course, Dr. Vroom, we're going to fix this at once -- after all, you are one of our most important customers on this flight". After stating my disbelief (hey, I'm just a lowly FTL, and there must have been a number of far more "important customers" in C and F), she showed me a paper list with 12 names or so on it, and indeed, there was my name.

I don't know how I got on this list; I had flown a lot this year already, and Lufthansa may have expected me to get SEN status soon. Or Lufthansa confused me with somebody famous and, well, "important." Or it may just be that on this Summer weekend flight, few other passengers had any status at all. Anyway, I guess I was just lucky and enjoyed the flight.
It is very easy. Op-ups are not by coincidence. Aside status LH marks potential pax as important for an op-up, because they hope for higher COS paid next times. So they do not only op-up, but try to treat you very special too.

After a couple op-ups if you don't pay the higher class they give up. No more op-ups then.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 8:55 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by SleepOverGreenland
It is very easy. Op-ups are not by coincidence. Aside status LH marks potential pax as important for an op-up, because they hope for higher COS paid next times. So they do not only op-up, but try to treat you very special too.

After a couple op-ups if you don't pay the higher class they give up. No more op-ups then.
Ummm... that mathces my experience last year when I had several Y->C op-ups just before and after I became SEN. And yes I have been in paid C a few times since (as well as Y). I wonder what will happen if I stopped paying for C. Will they op-up me in the hope that I may pay for the higher class again, or will they just give up?

I don't remember being treated very special, though, other than op-ups.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 8:59 am
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by SleepOverGreenland
It is very easy. Op-ups are not by coincidence. Aside status LH marks potential pax as important for an op-up, because they hope for higher COS paid next times. So they do not only op-up, but try to treat you very special too.

After a couple op-ups if you don't pay the higher class they give up. No more op-ups then.
So can one be strategic? Buy a paid higher COS every 6th RT or something? I've gotten op-upped on 3 out of my last 6 flights (1 before I even checked in, and 2 when I asked at the gate) and would hate to see it stop.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by econprof
So can one be strategic? Buy a paid higher COS every 6th RT or something? I've gotten op-upped on 3 out of my last 6 flights (1 before I even checked in, and 2 when I asked at the gate) and would hate to see it stop.
As an econprof you know better than anyone than if there were room for strategic behavior and there were a systematic way for an individual to benefit (even in expectation) from such a hypothetical strategy then this would matter (for LH, that is) in large numbers, in that it would entail a proportionally systematic erosion of revenue. This shows that LH does not follow a pattern in allocating op-ups.
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