4 ms·

>This is probably how frequent-flier programs should have been run in the first place. Airline don't care that you fly alot, they care that you are a profitable

by leoh 3y ago

>This is probably how frequent-flier programs should have been run in the first place. Airline don't care that you fly alot, they care that you are a profitable customer. Wow, okay, big jump here buddy. What happened to being profitable and actually committed to offering a core competent service to customers?

lotsofpulp 3y ago
Airlines are sub 5% profit margin businesses, with huge risk factors. As the joke goes, “how do you become a millionaire? Start with a billion dollars and buy an airline”. It is only recently the airline business has had steady positive years, due to consolidation, and even then, COVID hit and almost wiped them out were they not bailed out.
- leoh 3y ago
  Right. So they should ignore their core competency and operational excellence and become banks. Got it.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    Source that they are they ignoring their core competency? Modifying a rewards programs should require a very miniscule portion of ann airline’s available labor hours, and aligning rewards to be proportionate to profitability seems like a common sense business move.
    - leoh 3y ago
      5% margins? Becoming banks? Scarce innovation in the space? Lack of cleanliness on airplanes? How depressed every other attendant seems to be these days? The safety issues we’re seeing with counterfeit parts?
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - lotsofpulp 3y ago
        What is your point? That they should spend more money and lower profit margins even more? Or that they should increase prices so that they can spend more money to improve the things you listed? Surely, airline employees are more knowledgeable about how much customers are willing to pay than non airline employees.
        leoh 3y ago
        Airlines Shouldn’t Be Banks
        salawat 3y ago
        Banks are the convergent evolutionary endstate of business, much like crabs are observed to be somewhat of a hobby of Nature in terms of the end state of evolution of many crustacean species. Or the capacity to send email is the evolutionary end state of software. Or politics is the end state of most fotms of online rhetorical discourse. There is one step, and it is bank (Past a particular threshold). https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialization.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialization.asp https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html Those observations aside, I do agree with your rough rhetorical position.
        shortrounddev2 3y ago
        They should be broken up to increase competition. European (and asian) airlines provide better service at lower cost. The US airlines get bailed out every 10 years and so there is no incentive for them to improve their companies at all.
    - shortrounddev2 3y ago
      > Source that they are they ignoring their core competency? Have you flown on an airplane in the last 10 years? I'd rather drive 15 hours to Florida than deal with the fucking airlines
      - lotsofpulp 3y ago
        Yes, often. It has been the same experience (satisfactory), except some have newer planes. Avoid buying the lowest tier pricing (stick to economy, or whatever has free carry on and lets you pick a seat). I end up paying roughly $50 per hour of flight plus or minus, and it’s been consistent for my adult life (15+ years). Which is surprising considering inflation. The only problems I have with flying are TSA and airport runway congestion itself.
        shortrounddev2 3y ago
        > Avoid buying the lowest tier pricing Easy to say when you have money
        yamazakiwi 3y ago
        If you're flying at all, it's likely you are going to be spending some amount of money. In reality, it would be wildly unlikely that a person could afford a $200 ticket and not a $300 one with proper planning.
      - yamazakiwi 3y ago
        I'd rather not go to Florida in general if we're all speaking in extremes. I jest, but which airlines have you been on? I've enjoyed my airline experiences more now than in the past flying Delta, American, United.
      - SoftTalker 3y ago
        It's really about the whole expereince. Once I'm on the airplane, it's usually pretty OK. The security anal exam and general airport experience of modern-day air travel is what makes it unpleasant and is largely not the airlines' doing. But yeah I agree, if it's less than 6 hours I'll almost always just drive.

by leoh 3y ago

lotsofpulp 3y ago

Airlines are sub 5% profit margin businesses, with huge risk factors. As the joke goes, “how do you become a millionaire? Start with a billion dollars and buy an airline”. It is only recently the airline business has had steady positive years, due to consolidation, and even then, COVID hit and almost wiped them out were they not bailed out.

leoh 3y ago
Right. So they should ignore their core competency and operational excellence and become banks. Got it.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  Source that they are they ignoring their core competency? Modifying a rewards programs should require a very miniscule portion of ann airline’s available labor hours, and aligning rewards to be proportionate to profitability seems like a common sense business move.
  - leoh 3y ago
    5% margins? Becoming banks? Scarce innovation in the space? Lack of cleanliness on airplanes? How depressed every other attendant seems to be these days? The safety issues we’re seeing with counterfeit parts?
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      What is your point? That they should spend more money and lower profit margins even more? Or that they should increase prices so that they can spend more money to improve the things you listed? Surely, airline employees are more knowledgeable about how much customers are willing to pay than non airline employees.
      - leoh 3y ago
        Airlines Shouldn’t Be Banks
        salawat 3y ago
        Banks are the convergent evolutionary endstate of business, much like crabs are observed to be somewhat of a hobby of Nature in terms of the end state of evolution of many crustacean species. Or the capacity to send email is the evolutionary end state of software. Or politics is the end state of most fotms of online rhetorical discourse. There is one step, and it is bank (Past a particular threshold). https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialization.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialization.asp https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinisation https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/Z/Zawinskis-Law.html Those observations aside, I do agree with your rough rhetorical position.
      - shortrounddev2 3y ago
        They should be broken up to increase competition. European (and asian) airlines provide better service at lower cost. The US airlines get bailed out every 10 years and so there is no incentive for them to improve their companies at all.
  - shortrounddev2 3y ago
    > Source that they are they ignoring their core competency? Have you flown on an airplane in the last 10 years? I'd rather drive 15 hours to Florida than deal with the fucking airlines
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      Yes, often. It has been the same experience (satisfactory), except some have newer planes. Avoid buying the lowest tier pricing (stick to economy, or whatever has free carry on and lets you pick a seat). I end up paying roughly $50 per hour of flight plus or minus, and it’s been consistent for my adult life (15+ years). Which is surprising considering inflation. The only problems I have with flying are TSA and airport runway congestion itself.
      - shortrounddev2 3y ago
        > Avoid buying the lowest tier pricing Easy to say when you have money
        yamazakiwi 3y ago
        If you're flying at all, it's likely you are going to be spending some amount of money. In reality, it would be wildly unlikely that a person could afford a $200 ticket and not a $300 one with proper planning.
    - yamazakiwi 3y ago
      I'd rather not go to Florida in general if we're all speaking in extremes. I jest, but which airlines have you been on? I've enjoyed my airline experiences more now than in the past flying Delta, American, United.
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      It's really about the whole expereince. Once I'm on the airplane, it's usually pretty OK. The security anal exam and general airport experience of modern-day air travel is what makes it unpleasant and is largely not the airlines' doing. But yeah I agree, if it's less than 6 hours I'll almost always just drive.