NW, throw me a bone!
 

Dear NW WorldPerks,

With your upcoming merger with Delta & a huge concern that the Northwest WorldPerks benefits are going to be gutted & changed to Delta - who is now charging 25.00 to book codeshare mileage redemption flights over the phone (in addition to the 25.00 phone fee), among other recent things they're doing to discourage business. There's a fear out there amongst your loyal elites (and even your loyal non-elites who earn miles via credit card & the WorldPerks mall who only fly a couple of times a year) that the program's going the way of Delta if the merger is approved.

Unfortunately, we've only gotten a couple of emails from you that are so vague that we're not all sure we want to stick around. The only emails I've gotten so far is one the day the merger was announced which told me that there'll be a new global airline & another telling me to continue to be a BizPerks customer (even though BizPerks redemption prices recently went up without notification) - but nothing at all from how the program is going to be updated, improved, or, as Continental customers call it, "enhanced" - there's no hard data on this and no information is being presented to us? Why not? Are you hiding something?

Right now, Delta, American, and United are offering double elite qualifying miles to customers. Personally, from an Platinum Elite member customer perspective, I think its a bad business decision to do it - as I see the need to maintain the sanctity of the program & don't think status should be given away as it is. However, as your future partner and majore competition is giving their lower level elite members double EQMs, I'm suprised you are not - and this is one of those things that you may want to look into.

Since the WorldPerks program hasn't done anything to alleviate the fears of many of its flyers, I'm sure many of its flyers will leave Northwest - sure, they may come back after a while, but these other promos are giving them the option of starting with another airline that isn't merging with a crappy airline partner.

I'm one of them - it used to be when I logged into my account, I'd have at least 5-6 paid itins in my future reservations with you. Now, when I log into my United Account, I have 5 future reservations and only 1 on Northwest. United has offered the double EQM - which as a Premier Executive on them, incents me to go for 1K status - but Northwest, who has been my preferred provider since I was 19 years old & signed my first cell phone contract with Sprint which gave me NW miles, hasn't reassured frequent travelers that it'll be all good.

Now, I want to believe in you, Northwest - I really do. I value your elite reservations agents, your friendly customer service both on the ground & in the air, your policies which aren't as bad as some other carriers out there, your ability to give me a first class seat 90% of the time as a platinum, and the complimentary booze & free internet access in the WorldClubs. I want to remain loyal to you and I want you to tell me what changes are potentially going to happen with the program.

But with UA's double EQM promo, in this time of concern, they're doing something to win me over as a potential customer. I've always hated UA - but I'm at a point where I'd rather protect myself with some status, preferably higher level status, on UA as a weekly business travelers - than risk being sucked into Delta's miserable excuse for a frequent traveler program.

Throw us a bone, NW - tell us what we can expect from a WorldPerks perspective & actually keep your word when & if the proposed merger goes through. Give us Double EQM if you think it'll retain us (guess what, it probably will help) - do something. Right now, it's all speculation - most of which may or may not happen...why not do something to keep the customers that have been with you through strikes & other issues you've faced over the years?

Cordially yours,

bhatnasx

A multi-year Platinum elite member (and a multi-year UA Premier/PremEx member who may be heading to Gold on NW & 1k on UA if things don't change...)

thread title of the year ^:D

An eloquent and succinct letter that expresses what many of us our feeling I honestly believe.^ NW has been good to its elites and now needs to step up to the plate one more time. It would truly be the fitting epilogue to the wonderful story of that feisty airline from America's Heartland. Safe travels Y'All.

Looks good to me. I would have whined about how I stuck with NW through the strikes, work to rules summer, and if I wanted something stuck up my butt, I'd go to my doctor! ;)

Paging Bob Soukup!

Well written and well said.

(ps - nice to meet you at the Freddies bhatnasx!)

Don't forget to post a reply, if any!

Well put. ^

I agree, but I also keep adding "frickin'" to it and picturing Dr. Evil! :D

So where is Scoop2 when you need him/her?
 

Fabulous letter hopefully not just rhetoric!

I echo everything you have written, it seems there is a chance that a Delta equivelent os silver will match my hard earned gold. May as well fly elsewhere.

You all realize that they can't announce anything about the new SkyPerks (or whatever) program until the merger has been completed, right? They're forbidden from making any plans as if they were merged before the approval has been granted.

Issuing a list of what will and won't change, 5-6 months before an approval could even be issued, would sort of break that rule I think. The best we can all do is keep watching and see what happens while still having backup plans. It looks like some of you are doing just that.

There is nothing to stop them from having a customer retention promotion designed to be a defense against UA, DL, and AA's agressive moves to grab customers from CO, US, and NW.

Where is my retention bonus?
 

Mr. Steenland and I'm sure many of the executives and managers will receive a financial incentive to remain with the company thru the acquisition, rather than jumping ship at the first opportunity.

It seems to me they would do well to offer their most loyal customers (i.e. us :) ) a retention incentive to stay with NW/DL rather than switching to another airline.

I've been thru the denial, anger and pleading stages of grief, but somehow I'm working my way back to anger :)

I realize many of the details are yet to be worked out and the whole acquisition has yet to receive regulator approval -- in fact that process probably hasn't even started. But I want more than "everything will be sweetness and light" or "don't worry, be happy" -- that was been the party line in every merger, going back to when Titanic Ltd merged with Iceberg & Co.

I just don't have a good feeling about this whole thing. I had planned to hang loose to the end of the year and see what shakes out. But I have at least two TATL trips (Sept, Dec) -- possibly a third -- plus a couple of transcons and 2/3 transcons. All of which is enough to get some low status somewhere else for next year, and maybe with a couple MRs or some timely promotions to mid status. With CO seemly out of the merger picture they are looking better and better, as they fly to most places I go. Can you still do that trick were you book with NW status (and get any upgrades) but at the last minute change it to credit OnePass? Oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that :)

So, as a wise man once said, "NW, throw me a bone!"

Good public summary of what many are saying privately. Some FF are switching to Delta as well so if the merger does not go through, NW will pay a price even still.

Having said that, after many years a non-complaining, actually quite happy Platinum with NW, two years ago I fell short in the 11th hour when CO only gave 50% of an extensive, multi-city Euro trip, leaving me short by less that 500 miles. My appeal fell on deaf NW ears and emails. So I switched to UA [our corporate preferred and official airline] and for two years paid the price of bland service. When you are in a NW hub as Detroit, this is hard work. So in the following years, my status slipped first to Gold, then Silver, with few benefits. Any offer of double EQM would certainly "buy" my business back.

That still doesn't excuse the lack of any effort to retain existing customers with a double EQM promotion or something to show that NW values our business. With DL, AA and UA all doing this and NW sitting quiet, it's looking more and more like NW executives believe their work is done now that they've finalized the merger agreement with DL, and that they're just waiting to cash out and leave town. If not, it's time for them to show it....

I live in a small town where NW and AA are the only options. In the past, I have never considered AA a viable option (only flown 1 RT in 10 years of living here). This year, as soon as I have sufficient reservations to ensure NW PE for next year, I'll start flying a bit more on AA to hedge my bets, and might even ask for a match or challenge. Can't be good for NW that they're pushing loyal customers to do this.

Having been through a couple of mergers in a completely unrelated industry, on the acquiring side, I can tell you that the tension between wanting to give your customers concrete information, and the need to not make premature commitments that you don't know you can meet, is huge. And if you're on the side of the company being acquired it's hopeless. You don't know what to tell your customers and you just put a smile on your face and try to carry on.

No one will have a clue how the FF program details will shake out until the merger is much closer to being completed and real discussions start taking place. So I don't blame NW for not telling us exactly what will happen, especially just within a couple of weeks of the initial announcement.

I don't like the idea of this merger any more than anyone else, but I also recognize the reality of these things. I also hope that NW doesn't cave and do a double EQM promo, unless it's limited to higher fare classes. There are too many elites already, and we're coming into peak summer travel season where airlines don't have as much pressure to generate incremental traffic.

In principle, I understand your beef with double elite qualifying miles. However, do you realize that DL is already offering double elite qualifying miles on all fares to its own SkyMiles members? Do you really think we NW elites should enter the merger at a competitive disadvantage -- most troubling, in the zero-sum race for complimentary upgrade space -- because the carrier we are loyal to stubbornly refuses to fall into line?

Couldn't have said it better myself. If it was just UA & AA that were doing the double promo, I wouldn't be as worried - but I feel that I'll be disadvantaged as a plat if there are more plats after the proposed merger.

Slightly similar...when US & HP merged, I was a US Gold (and a NW Plat - didn't earn on UA as much then, but had Premier status with them too). The US program, post merger, went to 25K, 50K, 75k, and 100K levels. Previously, it was 25k, 50k, 100K levels. So a person at 51k was treated (theoretically) the same as someone at the 85K level. With the merger & the multiple elite levels, 50K became the new 25K & 25K became the new base member & the base member remained a nobody. I switched to UA as my primary *A carrier because the benefits weren't as welcoming, IMHO, with the new US.

And to the points that NW can't tell us stuff - I understand that may be the case - however, they're talking about how they'll have multiple hubs & are giving information on how their services & processes would be better - why are they not addressing the loyalty program part of it? Sure, that may not be a regulartory concern, but I guarantee you, it's a customer concern. And at the end of the day, its customer dollars, not regulatory dollars, that give cashflow to the companies.

It seems to me it's obvious why the double EQM/MQM promos are going on. It's all about loads now that some price hikes are in the system. All of these airlines hedge fuel. They are likely 6-12 months behind on fuel prices. So the EQM/MQM gets the loads up and butts in seats while they have margins again. For that reason alone NW should be pushing promos that don't reduce fares.

Absolutely correct. I suspect many elites (especially Plats) generally oppose measures that inflate elite ranks, and for that reason would have preferred if DL never offered double MQMs. The problem is that they did, so it is incumbent on the other half of the future DL to follow suit.

So... you walked away from NW and now you want NW to "buy" your not-so-loyal business back? :confused:

Well put! ^
You do realize that it's all about what works best for each flyer. Sure, if you've already qualified for Plat for 2009 or you know that you will, then of course you want less competition. If a double EQM promo boosted your status, then of course you would want it. I am assuming you fly mostly high fare classes, so you want those double EQMs but in a way that it only benefits you or people with your flying patterns. Not exactly fair, is it now?

My retention bonus...
 

...is going to come in the shape of more upgrades since other plats are fleeing to UA. ;)

Soon to be replaced by twice as many DL Plats via their 2x EQM promos. :(

January and Feb will be nightmares!

I am hopeing that they merge FF in March just for that reason.

Well said MarqFlyer! Exactly my thoughts.

:D Just checked the WayBack Machine from August 2005 (NW 2x EQM Promo).

Same arguments - same players :D :D :D
/.

March of what year? You do realize all the newly minted DL plats will be plats through Feb of 2010.

This is not correct. They can begin advance planning in advance of closing the merger. They can also tell us what their intentions are.

What they can't do is act on it now, and they must continue to compete in the market as they did prior.

At least a double EQM promo would earn me some more SWUs :)