Why do airlines care if you actually fly?
Jun 17, 2009 | 1:51 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 26
Why do airlines care if you actually fly?
I've always been confused why if you buy a ticket, you can't get the miles if you don't fly. And if you want some extra room on a flight, why can't you buy 2 or 3 seats and stretch out.
If you don't fly, they give your seat away. And you can't get any mileage credit unless you are actually in the air, even though the airlines have your $. Why do they care?
Air travel seems like the only product you can buy, and get charged a fee if you change your mind even 9 months before your flight yet the airlines can change the flight 10 times and you get nothing....
Can anyone offer any logic to this air travel weirdness?
If you don't fly, they give your seat away. And you can't get any mileage credit unless you are actually in the air, even though the airlines have your $. Why do they care?
Air travel seems like the only product you can buy, and get charged a fee if you change your mind even 9 months before your flight yet the airlines can change the flight 10 times and you get nothing....
Can anyone offer any logic to this air travel weirdness?
Jun 17, 2009 | 2:02 pm
#2
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Posts: 31,871
its simple business math.
they want you to pay and not get the miles. im sure not traveling also saves them money. and theyre not going to pass that on to you by giving you miles.
re fees, they vary.
they want you to pay and not get the miles. im sure not traveling also saves them money. and theyre not going to pass that on to you by giving you miles.
re fees, they vary.
Jun 17, 2009 | 2:14 pm
#3
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I've always been confused why if you buy a ticket, you can't get the miles if you don't fly. And if you want some extra room on a flight, why can't you buy 2 or 3 seats and stretch out.
If you don't fly, they give your seat away. And you can't get any mileage credit unless you are actually in the air, even though the airlines have your $. Why do they care?
Air travel seems like the only product you can buy, and get charged a fee if you change your mind even 9 months before your flight yet the airlines can change the flight 10 times and you get nothing....
Can anyone offer any logic to this air travel weirdness?
If you don't fly, they give your seat away. And you can't get any mileage credit unless you are actually in the air, even though the airlines have your $. Why do they care?
Air travel seems like the only product you can buy, and get charged a fee if you change your mind even 9 months before your flight yet the airlines can change the flight 10 times and you get nothing....
Can anyone offer any logic to this air travel weirdness?
You buy your ticket, choose not to fly and you still get miles. It would be just another variation of "buying miles" but in this case "buying RDMs and EQMs".
Jun 17, 2009 | 2:27 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 26
It seems like a great revenue stream. When you buy your ticket, have a checkbox that says "I'm not actually going on the plane, I want the miles only." Then they can sell the physical seat to someone else.
And if you like 3 seats, you can buy 3 for yourself and stretchout, and they can fill the plane quicker. Why not?
Airline math = bad math, it seems to me
And if you like 3 seats, you can buy 3 for yourself and stretchout, and they can fill the plane quicker. Why not?
Airline math = bad math, it seems to me
Jun 17, 2009 | 2:44 pm
#7
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Makes it harder to buy elite status. You don't just need the money. You need the money, plus the time, plus the tolerance.
Which is, of course, why some people here wish it weren't so.
Which is, of course, why some people here wish it weren't so.
Jun 17, 2009 | 2:59 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 26
Anyway, it seems in this competitive time, that if an airline were to suddenly offer such a convenience, that they would immediately gain a financial advantage, no?
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:05 pm
#9
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And if they have a lot of elites who have trouble getting upgrades, that forces many to simply buy F fares, adding more revenue.
True, I would certainly have preferred to simply buy my EXP status rather than invest money, time and tolerance. But I would have spent another $2K during the DEQM promotion to also buy UA 1K status.
Last edited by SFO777; Jun 17, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:18 pm
#10
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 160
It seems like a great revenue stream. When you buy your ticket, have a checkbox that says "I'm not actually going on the plane, I want the miles only." Then they can sell the physical seat to someone else.
And if you like 3 seats, you can buy 3 for yourself and stretchout, and they can fill the plane quicker. Why not?
Airline math = bad math, it seems to me
And if you like 3 seats, you can buy 3 for yourself and stretchout, and they can fill the plane quicker. Why not?
Airline math = bad math, it seems to me
The only people that would do something like this, would get a very high value out of the miles earned. The airlines dont want more miles in FT members hands, it costs them alot more than miles in someone elses hands.
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:25 pm
#11
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If you say so. 
It is exactly that "head in the sand" thinking that has made every US airline except WN a terrible investment and money loser for decades.
Q: How do you make a small fortune in the airline business?
A: Start with a large fortune.
It is exactly that "head in the sand" thinking that has made every US airline except WN a terrible investment and money loser for decades.
Q: How do you make a small fortune in the airline business?
A: Start with a large fortune.
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:26 pm
#12
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 160
True. I meant the math in this scenario.
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:36 pm
#13
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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US allows you to buy status outright, but it is usually far less expensive to go through the process of buying tickets and flying.
US-Buy Up to Preferred
You can essentially buy CP (top tier) for just under $4500.
US-Buy Up to Preferred
You can essentially buy CP (top tier) for just under $4500.
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:42 pm
#14
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And, of course, the FT junkies would grab up the seats just for the dirt cheap price per mile.
Jun 17, 2009 | 3:44 pm
#15
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