GRALISTAIR

No disrespect implied - but it would need close monitoring/moderating. Spirit seems to generate quite a bit of negativity.

RichMSN

[QUOTE=gkbiiii;17984803]Do you understand what the TalkBoard is and how it functions?

lin821

Good work, Sharon! ^

Don't forget to factor in how many threads were started by the same poster in this Feb alone.

BTW, the number of Views per thread may be also be a good measure of (potential) traffic. I don't know if Views for threads on Spirit are enough a justification for "good" traffic. I haven't checked.

gkbiiii

No, I was not trying to pad the forum!

1. The Spirit CEO talking about new fees, is relevant to the forum.
2. There was a question which I tried to answer about redemptions.
3. The Spirit Politics post, was true and relevant to an important issue.


Truly, I believe that Spirit will have at least as many forum entries (once it has it's own forum) as Virgin America, JetBlue, or Frontier. How long did JetBlue have to wait for its own forum anyway?? Did it have to prove viability and future success?

If you search "Spirit" on the North & South America Frequent Flyer Programs, you fill find over 223 pages of Spirit related questions, posts, and comments.

dhammer53

As a matter of fact, I do. I was on the original TalkBoard.

miguel0881

I would bet that most people voting against an NK thread have never even flown the airline. Like it or not, they're making money and expanding rapidly. If WN deserves a forum, so does NK. At least I have an assigned seat on NK, even if it costs me a few bucks. I've flown NK at least two dozen times in recent years, mostly international, and have never had a single bad experience. I think my longest delay was an hour. With the recent addition of carry-on bag fees, boarding is faster than ever. I still fly AA and UA much more than NK, but they definitely serve a purpose and they deserve a forum.

gkbiiii

Thank you, this is what I have been trying to say all along!! Someone does get it, I am really impressed by your comment. You have managed to make a point, that I was trying to make, but somehow did not resonate.

joshwex90

NK could be the most profitable airline with the best on-time record, etc. but that wouldn't qualify them for a forum. If the traffic on FT justifies one, then great. If not, then not. How well they're doing is irrelevant. Using that same logic, AA's forum should be disbanded because they're in bankruptcy, don't board as fast as NK, and they don't have such a great on-time performance.

RobbieRunner

A "Bit" of research? Sheesh. I'd hate to see what you call "Extensive" research. It would no doubt fill volumes.

Well done. Although if there are truly flyers that are going to post on-going, maybe it would not be a bad idea. Interested to see what happens and what the Mods decide.

aztimm

Is there a minimum number of posts or threads that an airline forum needs to be worthwhile?

I browsed through the following airline forums, and activity seems quite limited--
* Virgin America
* Korean Air
* Jet Blue
* Iberia
* Finnair

If TB is limiting opening forums for airlines, perhaps the TB should also evaluate closing those that aren't performing?

How does TB evaluate a successful airline forum on Flyertalk? Is there a difference between an airline forum and other forums?

miguel0881

Actually, there is a direct corollary between an airline's success and the need for a forum. More money equals more planes equals more flyers equals more comments. Check English-language reviews for Spirit online -- they're up significantly since the uptick in Vegas flights and West Coast service. I think it is safe to say that more US domestic flights may lead to increased traffic on English-language websites such as Flyertalk.

And yes, as airlines fall there is no longer a need for certain forums. I seem to remember the Indy Air forum being shut down a couple days after the carrier imploded in early 2006. Hopefully that will never be the case with AA, but it's not beyond the realm of possibilty that there will one day be a need to merge the AA forum with US or DL.

bhatnasx

FWIW....it's not like there isn't already a place to discuss Spirit - there is...and discussion has been happening there. I just don't see enough volume to warrant a standalone forum.

RichMSN

You'd expect discussion in a stand-alone forum to mirror what happens in an "Other" forum? What about those looking for specific Spirit discussion? What about those who aren't on FT who want to search for discussion or reviews about Spirit?

I think the "there's already a place" mentality is misguided. I doubt I'd ever go to the Other forum (unless someone told me to look at something there).

I'm very happy to go through the exercise of closing non-performing forums provided those forums are given a shot in the first place.

lin821

(underline mine)

I think that's the key point the pro camp for NK is not getting.

There may be thousands of satisfied and/or unsatisfied NK passengers out there. However, if they haven't shown enough interest in discussing NK on FT, as what the current NK statistics say, there will not be enough traffic to sustain a forum. Just look it up and you'll see what happened to the extinct Senior Travel Forum. The bottom line is, 3 or 5 enthusiasts alone are not good enough a number to "feed" a forum.

It may not hurt to check out why/how some proposals never get picked up then prepare for stronger and better arguments. In the past, someone had been eagerly advocated for a Korea Forum, which was never moved. I think traffic, or should I say lack of FT traffic, rejects the idea.

What about them?

If they've never bothered to post anything or ask any question about NK online, what makes you think they would start "participating" in Spirit Forum on FT, if we did create it? Would one-shot wonders and bystanders generate good traffic for a forum? Is that the target audience FT aims to serve? There used to be a poster or two who said they would definitely contribute if there's a standalone Korea Forum. As of today, I still haven't seen them make a single post about Korea in our designated Asia Forum. Yes, people can change, but not that much and not that fast.

Action speaks louder than words. And traffic (or posts) will speak for action. Is Spirit there yet on FT? That is the question.

kipper

Perhaps those who have not discussed NK on FT don't really know to find it in the "Other" forum. Perhaps, as it stands, it is too difficult for newbies who might want to discuss it to figure out where to post, so they stay quiet instead.

Knowing that TalkBoard can close an "underperforming" forum, why not give it a chance, and if, in 6 months, there just isn't traffic there, then have a motion to close it.