Closely related to lack of award availability is...

Complexity of award availability. I have had some good luck in getting some awards, but it often involves checking availability on a daily basis. This is much easier to do using the Web (rather than having to call) but it is certainly annoying.

Another one...

Fees for issuing awards close to the date of travel. These make no sense in the e-ticket era!

1. Devaluation.

2. Devaluation.

3. Devaluation.

4. Devaluation.

5. Devaluation.

Also, they keep putting the award amounts up in points required. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Continental will give you an award ticket. That is if they can charge you 50K miles for a flight that should be 25K. This is one of their tactics.

Rob

So, to summarize: It basically boils down to the ton of rules and restrictions just heaped into each program. This results in many of the complaints listed above: poor employee training/knowledge, complex systems that are slow/unreliable, and frustrated consumers.

Every once in a while, you'll see a program come along that truly is crafted for the consumer (it may even win a Freddie or two!). But before long, that program begins to add more rules, more restrictions, more terms and conditions... and it ends up in the dumps (i.e. no more Freddie!). I guess that's a law of thermo-dynamics. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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"There are those who travel, and those who travel well."

It's actually funny to read this at the same time as others are saying the *same* thing about other airlines. Don't just bash CO, bash them all -- they all (except WN) deserve it!

Short haul flights have nothing but business seats available,requiring more points,when all I wanted was an economy seat.

When buying coach and upgrading with miles, no way to waitlist Int'l upgrade on UA or DL without buying and committing to much higher priced "upgradable" coach ticket.

This is a real "lose-lose" since I won't buy coach until I know I can upgrade, so I have to keep calling to check if anything has opened up. I make dozens of calls, wasting not just my time but that of the airlines-I doubt there's any profit left by the time I'm finally booked.

I find that AA award availability is far better than Continental's, and I have >350000 miles in each program, so I do have some experience in redeeming miles in both programs.

Come, now. Some programs are just better than others.

And some programs restrict award availability unless you're an elite.

My experience with AA is VERY good (no status). My experience with UA is PRETTY good (status more or less not an issue here - only extra coach inventory for 1Ks) .. and very good for partner awards. Experience with DL okay to good.

CO, on the other hand, is just sad. Sad, sad, sad. Award availability is a constant battle. The best thing about CO miles is the ability to MOVE THEM OUT OF A CO ACCOUNT. Even that is being limited with the cutoff of Hilton transfers. I just hope we hold onto Amtrak...

AS is good availability too, btw, even for AA partner awards to Hawaii. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm surprised noone took my bait about the biggest problem being Gordo, etc. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

The biggest problem is award availability, and the airlines get most of the blame. But part of the blame also lies with the easy supply of miles for purchase.

For example Inside Flyer is now being purchased in bulk by some, not to read the magazine, but to purchase airlines mile on the cheap.

As a result one can get millions of miles without flying. No wonder seats are not available.

So Randy, I hope that your magazine could mention your own culpability in the problem.

When a frequent flyer program cuts its benefits and perks, why can't they frankly admit that they are cutting benefits as part of an effort to cut costs and remain competitive? Why do they always have to announce those cuts with the headline, "Exciting New Changes Benefit Our Frequent Flyers"? And then, only after you've slogged through the doublespeak in the last paragraph and exchanged confused messages with other FlyerTalkers, do you realize they've actually raised award levels across the board. I'm really tired of these clumsy con games. Do they really think they're fooling anyone?

In a certain amount of fairness, the "award availability" problem simply means that the programs are a victim of their own successes.

Airlines give away more an more awards every year.

They give away at least as many awards as a % of total seats year in and year out. So it isn't like they just aren't giving away seats.

The problem is that demand is growing faster than supply. That is, more and more people are acumulating miles and via more and more channels. So you have lots of folks energized by FF programs. So there's more competition for what, in relative terms, is a scarce resource.

Truth is, with miles so easy to come by, award chart point increases are probably necessary. In fact, miles become more abundant at a fast rate than award charts increase. So if award seats don't grow, we're going to have to see more and more award chart increases over time.

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

Randy will have the exact figures buried somewhere I feel sure. But I do recall reading something like 15 years back 80% of all miles held in FF plans were earned via FLYING that airline.

And now it is more like 80% of miles come from sources OTHER than flying. iDine, credit cards, partner purchases etc. So PG, with great respect, Randy's operation would represent a tiny fraction of one per cent I suspect in that bigger picture. Airlines WANT folks to buy miles off them.

Selling miles has actually been more profitable than running the airlines in the past couple of years.

The $$$$ figure Air Canada got by selling a section of Aeroplan was astounding to me.

Didn't that sale ultimately fall through in large measure because of Air Canada's bankruptcy proceedings? (I'm not up on the latest on this one...)

I do recall Randy estimating, at the time of UA's own Chapter 11 filing, that Mileage Plus was worth in excess of US$3 billion.

The one profitable thing these folks have been doing -- so complain as we (I) might, they must be doing something right!!