Another thumbs-up on the reallocation of the RoachChoice seats. Most all the good seats are back, looks like a couple given up out of the former-P pile but I'm getting my row 5 and 6.
I wonder if this is going to affect the revenue from the RoachChoice program? Or if JoePublic is still overall going to look at this as a benefit? I kind of agree on the arguments made that CC seats are still an improvement, but I wonder if the original cachet was "ooh we can get to sit in those nice seats that only the Elites used to get!"
Of course that might be assuming an awful lot. But to me it looks as if NW has taken a significant risk in devaluing the CC program in order to keep the Elites happy. And yeah, a million here and a million there and pretty soon you're broke. Or not broke.
In any case, I'm off to write the thank you letter.
I wonder if this is going to affect the revenue from the RoachChoice program? Or if JoePublic is still overall going to look at this as a benefit? I kind of agree on the arguments made that CC seats are still an improvement, but I wonder if the original cachet was "ooh we can get to sit in those nice seats that only the Elites used to get!"
Of course that might be assuming an awful lot. But to me it looks as if NW has taken a significant risk in devaluing the CC program in order to keep the Elites happy. And yeah, a million here and a million there and pretty soon you're broke. Or not broke.
In any case, I'm off to write the thank you letter.
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Originally Posted by worldexpress
compromise.. tweaking.. whatever.. UA won me over and I am gone.
If you ever fly business on UA on their PS route, you will never go back! It is better than most First cabins I have been in. It far out classes any flight I have flown in first on NW and they even give op-ups on occasion!
The adjustments are a compromise and make the new policy at least palatable for many. Certainly me.
It was a "choice." Jump right now to UA or wait to see what the tweaks were going to be. Because this was popped on us a third of the way into a year (I know, Mar. 15 - but we were all booked through at least April at that point) it makes a difficult switch to match exact status somewhere else.
At the end of this year I'll re-evaluate my options and look at a switch again. If there's a substantial further drop-off in service or another test involving a benefit we've enjoyed for some time I'll be gone.
It was a "choice." Jump right now to UA or wait to see what the tweaks were going to be. Because this was popped on us a third of the way into a year (I know, Mar. 15 - but we were all booked through at least April at that point) it makes a difficult switch to match exact status somewhere else.
At the end of this year I'll re-evaluate my options and look at a switch again. If there's a substantial further drop-off in service or another test involving a benefit we've enjoyed for some time I'll be gone.
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I certainly wouldn't be gushing so much about the revised program. It's as though someone started beating you 10 times a minute, then decided to only beat you once a minute, and you thanked them profusely for the "improvement".Originally Posted by michiflyer
...In any case, I'm off to write the thank you letter.
The original decision to implement the program was a bad one, and their backsliding in the face of the elite outcry doesn't make me feel any better about management.
Riding in coach on NW is a pretty awful experience and their decision to charge extra for the only seats that were slightly less awful was just the latest in a long string of stuff that makes the airline look silly (no pillows, charge for trail mix, etc). At this point, NW's management is clearly immune to the shame and embarrassment these moves cause the front line employees.
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Good analogy. Thanking NW for tossing us the bone after stealing our ribeye definitely sends them the wrong message.Originally Posted by Stripe
I certainly wouldn't be gushing so much about the revised program. It's as though someone started beating you 10 times a minute, then decided to only beat you once a minute, and you thanked them profusely for the "improvement".
Suspended
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It was a "choice." Jump right now to UA or wait to see what the tweaks were going to be. Because this was popped on us a third of the way into a year (I know, Mar. 15 - but we were all booked through at least April at that point) it makes a difficult switch to match exact status somewhere else.
At the end of this year I'll re-evaluate my options and look at a switch again. If there's a substantial further drop-off in service or another test involving a benefit we've enjoyed for some time I'll be gone.
sounds like making a line in the sand and then moving it every time they step over it.Originally Posted by SkagitFF
The adjustments are a compromise and make the new policy at least palatable for many. Certainly me.It was a "choice." Jump right now to UA or wait to see what the tweaks were going to be. Because this was popped on us a third of the way into a year (I know, Mar. 15 - but we were all booked through at least April at that point) it makes a difficult switch to match exact status somewhere else.
At the end of this year I'll re-evaluate my options and look at a switch again. If there's a substantial further drop-off in service or another test involving a benefit we've enjoyed for some time I'll be gone.
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I left United after 8 years as a 1K and a few months of regular flying short of a million miles. I don't move "lines in the sand." After the SFH and the closing of the 1K rooms with no reconsideration I was gone. Originally Posted by rwill11
sounds like making a line in the sand and then moving it every time they step over it.
It's taken me four years to burn off the miles I had in that program and as I've flown on those tickets I've watched the company improve.
The end of this year is a better time for ME to jump if it comes to that.
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The original decision to implement the program was a bad one, and their backsliding in the face of the elite outcry doesn't make me feel any better about management.
Why don't the US airlines use groups/forums like FT to put out trial balloons and/or do better focus groups prior to gambling like NW did with this?Originally Posted by Stripe
I certainly wouldn't be gushing so much about the revised program. It's as though someone started beating you 10 times a minute, then decided to only beat you once a minute, and you thanked them profusely for the "improvement".The original decision to implement the program was a bad one, and their backsliding in the face of the elite outcry doesn't make me feel any better about management.
It doesn't take a nuclear (or rocket) scientist to realize this is a far cheaper/more effective approach than launching something and then having to backtrack after annoying a sizeable number of your best customers by rubbing the changes in their face.
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If you have connections, how does the window work? Can you book seats for the entire itinerary at the 24hour window for the first flight?
Sorry to drag this thread back up, but I did not see an answer to this question. I checked today, and I was able to select Coach Choice seats for my 2nd leg at the 24 hour mark for my 1st leg. So at least you don't have to wait until 24 hours before your last leg and possibly miss out on a BF upgrade.Originally Posted by respectable_man
Does anybody know precisely when does the clock start?If you have connections, how does the window work? Can you book seats for the entire itinerary at the 24hour window for the first flight?
Newsline is the periodic communication that goes out to corporate travel arrangers. Here is a link to the CoachChoice article:
http://catalog.nwa.com/newsline/0406_01C.html
I didn't see any new information than the email sent out to Elites from Jim Cron, but the copy isn't verbatim either.
http://catalog.nwa.com/newsline/0406_01C.html
I didn't see any new information than the email sent out to Elites from Jim Cron, but the copy isn't verbatim either.
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It doesn't take a nuclear (or rocket) scientist to realize this is a far cheaper/more effective approach than launching something and then having to backtrack after annoying a sizeable number of your best customers by rubbing the changes in their face.
Another example of the poor management at NW...penny wise and pound foolish. Steenland paid $1.5 mil last year, more than the CEOs at AA, DL, WN, B9, CO, and AirTran... all (with the exception of DL) doing better than NW.Originally Posted by GUWonder
Why don't the US airlines use groups/forums like FT to put out trial balloons and/or do better focus groups prior to gambling like NW did with this?It doesn't take a nuclear (or rocket) scientist to realize this is a far cheaper/more effective approach than launching something and then having to backtrack after annoying a sizeable number of your best customers by rubbing the changes in their face.
the Choice seating has been very positively received by the non-elites (granted, the average FT is an elite and not in this group) and NW will see very positive returns on this program.
RC
RC
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RC
The old adage that "there's a sucker born every minute" is really true...at least in NW's case. Allow me to do the math:Originally Posted by Radiocycle
the Choice seating has been very positively received by the non-elites (granted, the average FT is an elite and not in this group) and NW will see very positive returns on this program.RC
Assumptions: One who purchases a CoachChoice seat is, in this exercise, defined as a "sucker". Further, with reference to the above adage, a "purchase" of a CoachChoice seat is akin to the previously defined sucker "being born".
1. ($27,000 revenue generated per day) / ($15 per CoachChoice seat) = 1800 coach choice seats sold per day.
2. (1800 CoachChoice seats per day) / (1440 minutes per day) =
3. 1.25 CoachChoice seats sold per minute (on average).
QED!
Sorry, I just saw RC's numbers and did the quick calculation in my head and thought it quite funny that a sucker really is born every minute.
When I was an infrequent non elite traveller, I used to always wonder why I got stuck in some crappy seat in the back of the plane and what it would take to get an exit row seat ahead of time. When I was building my silver status, I figured out how to snag them via the checkin kiosk. The ability to pay $15 as a non-elite on a DTW-LAX flight, well, could actually make a positive impression on those passengers.
No matter how you spin it, roach coach is still roach coach.