channa

Right, but that's not their problem.

They see the problem, they don't know how to fix it, but they THINK they know how to fix it. They THINK they know what they're doing.

That's the most dangerous combination in any organization.

bob_the_d

it's only from SFO. *A does indeed cover ICN much better than OW. from NYC, getting to ICN (it's home for me so i go back a few times a year) has always been a pain. in the old CO world, it was somewhat nice because because i could take the late morning flight and connect through NRT, although it would arrive around 9 PM local time and catching the last bus at 10 PM to where i live is always a crapshoot. the JFK-SFO-ICN itinerary requires a 6 AM flight out of JFK, and there's nowhere for me to shower (the SQ lounge seems to be closed during when i fly this route, annoyingly enough) and it's always about a one hour layover. given my experience with UA's on-time performance (their marketing be damned, i've been delayed for 2+ hours on the last 7 UA flights i've taken straight, very frustrated by that) that one hour window connecting to a once a day flight always gives me pause.

looking at the new AA flight out of DFW, it's still a 6 AM departure out of LGA, but it's a 90 minute window which is a little better. also might give me time to take a quick shower as well. i understand they're going to use one of the older 777's though with the angled beds though, whereas the UA flights are all flat bed which is still a huge plus for me.

i know they're not going to do it, but if AA decided to put one of their shiny new 77W's on it, i would have pretty much jumped over. right now i'm teetering on the fence still.

787fan

come to think of it, UA doesn't need to respond at all

UA already has 4 tiers of elite, with additional RPUs/GPUs every 25/50K past 100K (unlimited earning), and actual tangible benefits for high spenders (GS, not some fluffy Concierge Key)

The only difference between AA's new elite rewards and UA's existing program is the bonus offered at 40K.

787fan

I think we're a bit OT here, but for your scenario, you can choose these other Star options

OZ : JFK-ICN (soon to be new OZ First Suites)
UA : EWR-NRT-ICN
NH : JFK-NRT-ICN (new 77W)
CA : JFK-PEK-ICN/GMP (new 77W)

And that's on top of all the NorthAmerican-ICN flights offered by UA, AC, and OZ. Every single option listed here have true flat bed on the TPAC segment. I'm sure one of those would be more attractive than 6am out of NYC.

milesmuncher

Bingo.

Personally, I think this is the most interesting aspect of this - but also the one that people seem to be talking the least about. There are a LOT of people who fly 25K but not 50K in a given year. While they might be loyal to ensure they at least get to 25K, I wouldn't be surprised if many are less "committed" after hitting that threshold (e.g. less willing to take a connection, or fly at an inconvenient time, or pay a small premium) because 50K is too far off. With tangible benefits now being provided at 40K, I would expect that some of these folks will stay more "committed" to AA after hitting their 25K.

And once you hit 40K, 50K really isn't that far away

bob_the_d

haha yeah, but it's because i try to stick on my originating carrier's metal (UA or AA).

...although i have no idea why i foolishly do that anymore.

i was looking at the AA rewards chart again though and milestone 3 and 4 caught my eye where you can gift gold and platinum to someone. i haven't hit MM on UA so i can't give a companion status yet, AA's milestones 3 and 4 would be nice for an SO.

although i do also notice that 3 and 4 both have an admirals club membership option... i wonder if that would mean i can also do the same? keep one for myself and gift one for another person?

fangtl

This is impressive, once I accomplish all 4 milestones I can my choice of over 100k additional miles or 60k and 4SWU. ^

entropy

United probably won't respond. They seem to think that people will fly them for their route network, no matter if they offer the best elite program or not, best service or not, or best FFP.

CO was never much interested in doing promos unlike their former partner NW, which was always utilizing their FFP to pull in customers.

oopsz

And the 787s are flying again! Between the route network and the 787s, the lean times are over for UA.

feobrien

I flew over 230,000 miles on UA last year. My reward was being downgraded from Global Services to 1K (which I am a lifetime 1K member). That's the type of special rewards we can expect from UA.

tom911

UA had tier bonuses in the early 90s. When you hit 35K you received 10,000 miles. Reach 45K, get another 10,000. Can't recall what the cap on that was but it didn't stay around too long--maybe ending around 93-94--and I only recall benefiting from that one year. I joined MP in 1992. They also had reduced mileage awards when two persons traveled together.

drewguy

Right - It's the intermediate bonuses that give people a greater marginal incentive to keep flying AA. If you're unlikely to fly the full 25k miles to reach the next tier, you have reduced incentive to fly that airline. But with more reachable intermediate bonus points you're more likely to do so.

unavaca

Sorry for the inaccuracy. Wikipedia lied to me

tom911

I'm surprised, looking at Seoul fares from either DFW or SFO, that a UA "W" fare is only $10-20 more than the lowest AA economy fare (used sample June dates). That sort of takes away the AA advantage in not having to "buy-up" to use a systemwide. The only real issue in play would be which carrier you're more likely to clear that systemwide on.

ncorman

Wikipedia will do that sometimes, but far less than SMI/J.