GNRMatt

^^

thomwithanh

Not sure why it needs to be registration based, whereas with special dividends you get them automatically once you hit the appropriate threshold.

I have some travel on pmAA and CX coming up this summer, going to do a PLT challenge as well (if those are still around come July...) I may as well register - if I have more AA/OW travel come up this year it might get me at least to the bottom level and a few extra e-500's.

SFTNYC

I think the other thing to consider which can't be overstated is that AA hubs in markets with more premium demand (ORD/LAX/NYC in particular come to mind) - the product needs to reflect the higher level of paid demand (vs. the "upgrade class") that US offers - particularly on shorter hops.

Thunderroad

Good question. A lot of promos at a lot of airlines and hotel chains require registration, so this seems to be a common strategy. My best guess (and it's only a guess) is that such promos are mainly worthwhile to the airline or hotel chain to the extent that people are acting on it by flying or staying more than they otherwise would have, thus generating more immediate revenue and long-term loyalty. AA's thinking might be that it's more likely (though certainly not guaranteed) that folks are acting on it if they take the trouble to register. If they automatically benefited without registering, AA would be wasting more bonus miles and other perks on people who had not even noticed the promo and/or whose actions were not affected by it.

Or at least that's my guess...

thomwithanh

I for one am hoping that e-500s are retained in the new FFP.

FWAAA

Agree with Thunderroad.

Registration is required for the same reason that companies still require that you clip a coupon from Sunday's paper or circle the price on your receipt and cut out the UPC code to mail in for a product rebate. A classic example of price discrimination.

I'm just glad that registration is as easy as clicking a button on the website and that AA doesn't require us to circle things on our boarding passes and then mail them to a drop box in MN by a certain date.

burlax

You can't have these kinds of inter-company discussions before the merger is approved w.r.t. antitrust issues. So, I'm pretty sure Parker didn't approve anything. Besides, the math for that kind of a program had to be done in advance, so AA likely decided to put the program in place before the parties even agreed to merge.

Ditto. Better to be able to prioritize one's upgrades.

austin_res

I hope Parker keeps AA's Main Cabin Extra seats and extends it to the US aircraft.

matrixwalker2012

So the smart thing for the airlines to do to the college students playing arbitrage on them is to hire them! These are people who know how the system well enough to beat it, get them on your side!

BoeingBoy

This just in...

American, US Airways Reveal Plans For Stitching Airlines Together

Soon after the merger closes, he said, the goal is to allow passengers to book flights on both carriers on a single itinerary and combine some operations in Fort Worth, which means bringing some employees from US Airways’ current headquarters in Tempe, Ariz. Within six months, the two hope to start moving their planes around, matching the size of the plane with the demand on a route. They also want to let passengers earn and redeem miles on the other carrier’s frequent-flier plan, and harmonize some product offerings such as food and beverages on board and align some passenger processing procedures, Mr. Isom said.

Jim

Superguy

If only UA/CO had learned this lesson and stuck with Apollo instead of migrating to SHARES.

I think US learned from the last time they merged systems, saw that SHARES can't handle a large airline load (just look at UA - SHARES is fine for the size of a CO or US, but not a combined UA/CO). They're making the right decision sticking with AA's Sabre.

Now this could get interesting - I wonder what "soon after the merger closes" means and how US and AA will straddle alliances. I don't see US exiting *A until the merger's closed, and even then, the exit from *A and entrance into OW is going to take some time. So will we have an airline that has it possible to earn *A credit on AA, or OW credit on US, or are we going to have an airline that only earns credit for the alliance of the operating credit?

If it's the latter, I see it getting really messy for pax that have combined carrier itineraries.

CubsFanJohn

Smart move on Parker's part. I really think Parker has learned from his mistakes in the US/AW merger and is trying to do this one right.

Good! There is room for both JFK/PHL in the new AA/US network. JFK can handle the O&D stuff and PHL can handle the connections. New York is too large of a market for the new AA to abadon.

dw

Yes, and there will also be intense competition from UA and DL out of these markets (except for DL at ORD), so I would think they would at least need to match what UA and DL are offering. So hopefully they will retain the AA F meal windows.

TomBrady

I would love this, but dont see it happening

FWAAA

I'm curious as to your reasoning. UA has maintained E+ for 13+ years now and even Idiot Smisek decided to extend it to CO planes. That prompted DL to join the extra-legroom club and that caused AA to finally reverse course once again and introduce MCE. Part of the problem with AA management the past 10 years was the short-man Arpey's short-sighted decision to remove MRTC instead of copying UA's E+, which can be sold.

UA has claimed for years that E+ pays for itself via upsells to the masses. Even if it doesn't, it's a low-cost method of making tall elites less angry when their upgrade fails to clear.

And so now, having taken over AA, which will be the biggest airline in the world, Parker will go it alone with no extra-legroom seating? That flies in the face of common sense, as that would hand UA and DL a lot of business. Parker is going to need all the high revenue customers he can find so that he can afford the giant raises he's giving to all the legacy US pilots and FAs, in addition to the small raises he's giving the legacy AA employees.

Anything is possible, but Parker and his minions have repeated over and over the past two months that they won't make the same mistakes again or duplicate the mistakes that have plagued other mergers.

So why, exactly, would he not keep MCE and/or extend it to the US fleet? I expect US to begin converting its planes in short order in advance of the finalization of the merger. It takes mechanics merely an overnight to remove a row and re-adjust the others.