DianeBrady

Hi,
I'm interested in hearing from people who have first-hand experience of the differences in service one gets according to how much business you give an airline (ie. Platinum vs. regular travel) ... I'm looking at the increasing differentiation--where companies are focusing more and more on giving service based on what a customer is actually worth.

--Anybody found themselves downgraded one year and noticed a big change in marketing/service/response time when you call?
--Concrete evidence that the lowest-tier (ie. transient travelers) increasingly don't matter or get much attention?
--Evidence of airlines having more data on you--used for good or ill results?

I'm less interested in general horror stories than evidence of a growing gap between different grades of customers, as well as anecdotes that illustrate how companies increasingly treat them differently.

Email response is fine and my deadline is Friday. Thanks very much. Diane Brady
[email protected]

freefaller12k

FYI, Although I'm sure your likely to get some valuable infomation from the members here, cross-posting and double posting (see FT Community)in multiple forums is frowned upon.

I hope you get what you need, by please try to follow the posted guidelines.

Freefaller12k

BTW I can't help you. I usually get the same treement as the rest of the sheeple in the back.

PG

I do not think that my experiences support your hypothesis. I was once a United 1K and now an United P.E.

Clearly United offers more benefits to 1K than to PEs and even lists the differences in its web site, so I am not saying that there is no difference among the various tiers.

Efrem

I am elite with AA and Delta but sometimes fly other airlines. (It's tough to get from the Boston area to IAD on either of those.) I have not noticed any difference in my treatment other than the official differences based on status (early boarding, special reservation lines with better-trained staff and shorter waits, lounge access) and/or class of service (there's a better grade of peanuts up front).

When I've been downgraded (Gold to Silver Medallion on DL this past year, as I've moved most of my travel to AA) I've noticed that I get exactly what my new status entitles me to. If I don't like it, my options are to (a) fly more with that airline to regain my old status, or (b) not fly at all with that airline so it won't matter.

The one semi-official benefit I've received as a result of status is operational upgrades when economy class is oversold and there are seats up front. The airlines upgrade those with the highest status and/or who paid the most, rather than giving business- or first-class seats to whoever got to the gate last after the cheap seats were full. That's not "dissing" transient travelers. It's just good sense. It doesn't bother me when I'm on (say) United and it doesn't happen. United knows, if history is any indication, that I'm not likely to return.

In other words, no surprises here. You can get 99 percent of the picture from an airline's official elite flyer benefits list. They don't hide these lists since the benefits are a way they hope to attract frequent travelers. They are real, but are they news? Nope. Sorry.

AC*SE

Take a look through the AC/CP threads.

You have a classic opportunity there of people who are high end with one carrier, suddenly flying with the other. While status was nominally transferred to both, the corporate cultures took a while to catch up.