zpaul

I agree. As most of us know tourism in the region is growing by leaps and bounds, bringing many new people to experience LAN, and requiring guidance with all aspects of the travel experience. Ditto to all of the stats and arguments JohnnyColombia has put out there, but who will "jump through the hoops" to get it done, as two of the top contributors to LAN conversations, JC and Eastbay, have already made it clear that they won't. I'd like to say yes as I feel strongly about it, but I need to see how time-consuming it is; I don't want to let anyone down by committing just yet.

Cholula

As a current TalkBoard member, I voted in favor oa a LAN Forum when it was last up for a vote. And I'm still in favor of it.

Now we just need five...or more....other TB members who will also support it this time around.

And this thread is the best place to make a convincing argument for the forum. Many of the posts here thus far have been very helpful IMO.

SkiAdcock

I was supportive of the LAN forum last time around (although I was not on TB then). I'm still supportive of it.

And what my fellow TBers don't know is that about a month ago I PM'd one of the FTers who was a major supporter of it & asked his input on it, or whether it should wait for the meger w/ TAM (LANTAM - something like that, which part of the LAN forum debate had discussed previously).

It took him a while to respond, but since he responded in a PM I need his permission to post his reply, but I think it was along the lines of waiting, but that could because I couched it in terms of where the last discussion had gone. My guess is he'd be supportive if we moved ahead.

Nothing to do w/ him or to do w/ TB not wanting to take up the issue, but I didn't raise it after getting his input because I came into my busy time at work & have been swamped with that. And am currently overseas on bizness.

It had been my intent to bring it up again once I got back/got caught up, so in the next week or so. Also have a few other things to bring up w/ TB, but didn't think it made sense to do so when I couldn't devote the appropriate amount of attention to FT/TB. Once I get this trip behind me, things slow down & you all will have my full attention again.

Cheers.

david_33

Yes, the Lan-Tam merger is almost a "done deal" now that the Chilean courts have given the go ahead. The new airline will be one of the largest in the world. Why wait? A dedicated Lan forum is a necessity. Its hard to believe that the Lan thread is hidden among other threads of relatively insignificant airlines. I trust that those TalkBoard members who I voted for (Cholula and SkiAdcock are two of those) will continue to support this effort. We are waiting for Sharon to come to Lima and try out the excellent J. W. Marriott here.

MrHalliday

^ ^ ^

bingocallerb22

I can only assume what motivates FlyerTalk, but there is an opportunity here for FlyerTalk to be “THE” place to come for LAN and LanPass information, tips and help. There is a void out there right now, eventually someone will step in if FlyerTalk does not. A dedicated forum would highlight this, increasing posts in an ever upward spiral as the word gets around. Success breeds success. More posts, more prestige, bigger numbers... and I assume therefore increased potential for advertizing revenue for FlyerTalk... but maybe that is not what motivates FT, I can only assume.

JohnnyColombia

I think Eastbay1K's comments were fairly measured and an indication of his frustration. He pulled the stops out two years ago, his proposal was widely backed and it was shot down by some TBers that I had never heard of. Needless to say I have heard of Eastbay1K, he is one of the passionate LAN advocates that is apparently a prerequisite for a new forum.

Maybe what FT loses sight of is that FT is for people that spend lots of money on flights, credit cards, hotels etc. Either we are are independently wealthy, or more likely we have jobs. Not wanting to second guess Eastbay1K but perhaps he thought he was suggesting something that was good for FT as a whole, but he got treated as if FT were a forum for retirees that paint flower pots and as such have plenty of time to justify forums for which there is an obvious need.

As I said previously in this thread, I have one foot in the Eastbay1K camp. Suggesting a new forum seems to be more complicated than opening a Venezuelan savings account.

JohnnyColombia

I think hoop jumping should not be required, there is already plenty of info and justification in this thread, I am sure shortly there will be even more.

JohnnyColombia

Thanks for your encouragement and continued support Cholula

JohnnyColombia

Thanks for your comments SkiAdcock Although LATAM seems to have got the thumbs up, I just do not see the extension of logic that takes a person to the "waiting for LATAM" place.

LAN as an airline is valid in its own right for inclusion with its own forum. Say the merger with JJ goes through in 18 months, then look at CO and UA as a reference for when LA and JJ would conceivably have a unified FF programme. 3 years? 4 years? LANpass is here and with us for the medium term at least.

When the IB forum was proposed I didn't notice one single person saying "Let's wait to see if IAG buys TAP" I didn't see anyone saying "Let's wait to see if IB plus merges with BAEC"

And if you take a look at the IB plus and BAEC forums over the last 10 days, you will see that FT has come into its own as THE place to discuss that unification that nobody mentioned beforehand.

I have never flown JJ, IF the LA JJ merger goes through, IF they put together a unified FF programme, IF that means LANpass changes alliances, and becomes an amalgamation of JJ's Felicidade programme with elements of LANpass. Where do Flyertalkers discuss such changes? In the Antarctica forum?

JohnnyColombia

Speaking of new posts and members for such a forum. Here is a charming example of Flyer Talk failure

This lady (whose husband is a OW Elite) came to FT with a luggage problem, posted it in the AA forum from where she got hoofed out to the LAN [non] forum and she never came back.

Fascinatingly, many of us come to FT because of LAN luggage problems, here is my first post on FT. Almost exactly the same issue.

zpaul

Check that link...

JohnnyColombia

Ha ha! Edited

By all means feel free to edit your copy of the link too

zpaul

Done! Though the cream looked interesting...¡!

zpaul

Asking seriously, how do you know she never came back (is there a way to track)? It was her first post - maybe she just got what she wanted and didn't know that we all usually say "thanks" to each other. Plus, when a thread is moved, doesn't the title link stay in the old forum and link to the new forum? She would have still found the title in the American Airlines forum which would bring her to left field. I think.