Proposal for alternative to miles
 

rbAA's post [link=http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum124/HTML/005502.html]here[/link] got me thinking about an alternative to frequent flyer miles: frequent flyer hours. The idea is that you would get 500 points per hour of flying time block-to-block. In practice, this would provide frequent flyer points roughly in proportion and amount to what we have now, but would provide instant remuneration for delays.

Your plane could be sitting on the ground waiting for a gate and you'd be thinking: Well, at least I'll requalify for elite this year without having to go on a mileage run.

Transition costs seem high -- both in reprogramming costs and in changing customer expectations.

What's the upside to the airline? Carriers can certainly already compensate for delays with miles, and many do.

If FF programs change, it will be in the direction of revenue not time.

Now if the TSA compensated us for our time, that might be a different story. 500 miles for a secondary screening... 20,000 miles if the airport has to be evacuated, etc. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

------------------
View from the Wing: A blog about Free Miles and Free Markets