On UA before 9/11, if I tried to standby on earlier flights and didn't get on that plane, taking my originally booked. My luggage would be off to the side of the carrosel when I showed up back at MCI, no waiting for the luggage, it would come in on the earlier flights.

Very common before 9/11, and it's happened to me a couple times since as well.

I really love reading these threads.
Seriously. Most of the "Oh God how can you do that to the company" posts come from those who have never done MRs.
All my travel this year on AA has been from the MR or fare mistake aspect.
$1008 dollars for 7 itins and 51k eqm. Can better be done. Sure. But this year its been what I needed. And honestly. I would rather spend the average $140 per weekend on a plane than in a bar or doing someone else's hobby. Flying is fun. TSA blows. But flying is fun. It is what I want to do with my time. So I do value my time. Just differently than others here and there. We're all different. It makes life more fun. Trust me. I don't want to be you. And with all those dedicated hours up there I sure could plan to save the world. If I thought I was wrecking it. Those flights are flying whether or not I'm on them. And as any AA MR knows, some times they're not flying even if you're on them. I am so thankful for their constant schedule changes. Taking a simple nyc-san-pdx-lax-nyc and making it nyc-mia-lax-pdx return for no added cost. I have NO problem with that. They screwed me my changing the schedule and eliminating the flights I chose. At that point its them screwing me. So they compensate me in a way I accept. And I get more eqm.

The whole pay for eqm without flying doesnt work because of this one reason. The MRs we do are not the absolute cheapest thing we can find. It is the cheapest thing we can find from an airport that we can get to. So the cost "loss" to the airline is less and the number of runners less.

And I've never met a MR that had more than a carryon bag with them. So the previous unaccompanied baggage argument fails.

[QUOTE=WonderDude]I'm sure it's been asked before, but why do the airlines require customers to actually take the flight to get the miles if they're willing to pay for the ticket? Why would they not just take the money from someone who pays but agrees not to fly, and then sell the seat to someone else? Double dough for them.

Perhaps some airline will wise up and allow mileage crediting for tickets when the customer does not intend to actually fly (for a fee, of course). The airlines could call it an advance "Mileage only fee" charged for the privilege of giving them money for providing no primary product. This would certainly give them extra revenue at the expense of the willing miles/points/status addict. MR folks would save by not having to take a vacation or "sick" day, or just not totally waste a day or two of their time. The more I think of it, the less of a joke I think the idea is.

Wonderdude - this is brilliant. I would have paid a Mileage only fee. Don't understand why not a single airline has ever offered this...

Would certainly get the attention of alot of MRs.

To add to the original post: I was flying NW, LAX-LAS. No bags(since I wasn't planning on going anywhere).

I boarded the flight early. They took my ticket. About half way down the jetway I just turned around and walked back to the agent. I think I told her I had left something at the newstand (Or maybe I needed to buy a coffee). Can't remember. She said, you have plenty of time until departure. And then I just walked out of the terminal, back to my car in short term parking. I got credit for the segment, reached the level, viola! EQMs! This was before 9/11 and my guess is around 1999.

I used to always get on flights, stow my bag, then get off and wait for the flight inside the terminal. Last call, I'd board. (I used to get claustrophobic). But that is no longer an option these days. bummer.


On a side note, back in 1990, when I flew Continental(this seemed to only work with them), i would always send in my boarding pass even when I was credited for the flight segment. For about a two year period, they would apply miles to my account without checking to see if my account was credited. Sometimes I could xerox the boarding pass and get credit for the same segment over and over...

That ended when someone woke up. But they never took the miles back!

I still have some continental miles from that period (early 90s). Ethical? Nope. Do I feel bad about getting something I didn't earn? A little. Would I do it again if it worked? Probably not. I was younger and more cavalier then...

Agreed, we deal with the nonsensiscal rules, so certainly can work them to our own advantage without feeling guilty!

I see nothing wrong.... ethically or otherwise, with MR's

I often fly just to look out the window.

I agree
LWW

incorrect

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