Thoughts on a Non-Rev forum on FT?
Dec 20, 2014, 10:25 pm
#31
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC, MSY
Programs: DL DM, 1.5MM, NEXUS, Sky Club Lifetime, Admirals Club Lifetime, LowValueCustomer everywhere
Posts: 6,447
There have been numerous posts in the DL Forum addressing areas other than buddy passes, mainly involving a belief that pass riding personnel are getting upgrades that should be going to elites.
It's my opinion that pass travel is a component of employee compensation which is governed by policies and rules and that transparency would go a long way in eliminating misunderstandings and urban legends that abound in the customer community. Customers need to understand that it is a means of allowing the airline to provide a benefit in lieu of cash salary.
There are also the Pilot and FA agreements which contain separate rules and privileges. While these should not necessarily be made public, a synopsis would again dispel rumors and urban legends.
I can't speak about AA (new or old) but based on information gathered from public forums and FB, there does appear to be a serious problem involving the sale of buddy passes and other instruments which Delta is trying to address. IMO, if they went public with the rules and made the public aware of the potential consequences of purchasing these tickets, it might help rather than hinder their efforts to control the situation.
I am not in favor of having material non-public information divulged that would give a customer or a competitor proprietary information. i.e. as we know, employees have access to the capacity loads of every flight and use the information to judge which flights offer the best opportunity for pass travel. We, like many non-employee pass riders have no direct access to DLNET and rely on our sponsor to keep us updated on pertinent information. Fortunately, we have a great relationship with our son and he does a good job of keeping us up to date on policy and rule changes, checking loads and handling our listings. Sadly, not everyone is as fortunate as we are.
There is a fee based web site which collects load data and sells their analysis to zED riders, assisting them to determine similar information when they do not have access to another airline's systems. Recently, both AA and DL have had the site remove their information. If you're not familiar with the site, ask & I'll PM you their URL.
It's my opinion that pass travel is a component of employee compensation which is governed by policies and rules and that transparency would go a long way in eliminating misunderstandings and urban legends that abound in the customer community. Customers need to understand that it is a means of allowing the airline to provide a benefit in lieu of cash salary.
There are also the Pilot and FA agreements which contain separate rules and privileges. While these should not necessarily be made public, a synopsis would again dispel rumors and urban legends.
I can't speak about AA (new or old) but based on information gathered from public forums and FB, there does appear to be a serious problem involving the sale of buddy passes and other instruments which Delta is trying to address. IMO, if they went public with the rules and made the public aware of the potential consequences of purchasing these tickets, it might help rather than hinder their efforts to control the situation.
I am not in favor of having material non-public information divulged that would give a customer or a competitor proprietary information. i.e. as we know, employees have access to the capacity loads of every flight and use the information to judge which flights offer the best opportunity for pass travel. We, like many non-employee pass riders have no direct access to DLNET and rely on our sponsor to keep us updated on pertinent information. Fortunately, we have a great relationship with our son and he does a good job of keeping us up to date on policy and rule changes, checking loads and handling our listings. Sadly, not everyone is as fortunate as we are.
There is a fee based web site which collects load data and sells their analysis to zED riders, assisting them to determine similar information when they do not have access to another airline's systems. Recently, both AA and DL have had the site remove their information. If you're not familiar with the site, ask & I'll PM you their URL.
Dec 28, 2014, 7:20 pm
#32
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,617
1. While I can’t speak for every airline, the one where my wife and I have pass privileges has a clearly stated policy regarding posting company information on social media and other public websites, particularly about non-rev travel. This policy extends to all pass riders. I would post it here as an example but that would be a violation of the policy.
Therefore, the number of participants would be greatly limited. I don’t know of too many people who would continually violate an employer’s written policy when doing so could cost them their privileges or even their jobs.
Therefore, the number of participants would be greatly limited. I don’t know of too many people who would continually violate an employer’s written policy when doing so could cost them their privileges or even their jobs.This could be a thread Wiki, but I hope we will get a more robust reference-style Wiki capability in 2015.
Dec 29, 2014, 2:07 am
#33
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Even if there are a large number of such FT members, discussions of such topics in the existing airline forums would seem as appropriate now as it has been. So I too agree that things are fine as is.
