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This is a shortsighted mistake that is costing airlines something very important: loyalty. Anyone who frequents FlyerTalk or other airline related sites knows t

This is a shortsighted mistake that is costing airlines something very important: loyalty. Anyone who frequents FlyerTalk or other airline related sites knows that frequent flyers are switching away from the devalued and decoupled miles airlines because of the changes. Cracking down on milage runs is one thing. It makes sense for airlines to price flights according to their value (including rewards value). But tying rewards to spending instead of miles is a mistake. Many people like myself will just move to airlines who still reward their travelers well.

apendleton 12y ago
Two things: firstly, the analysis I've seen suggests that some kinds of business travels lose and some gain, depending on the travel patterns -- in particular, frequent short-duration flyers (e.g., people who commute from DC to NYC twice a week) gain, while infrequent long-distance travelers (e.g., people racking up miles going NYC to Shanghai a few times a year) lose. So maybe the airlines think they'll one class of traveler for every one of another class that they lose? Secondly, the overarching assumption is that American (and its alliance) will follow the other major players and switch once the merger is done, at which point there won't really be anywhere to go, at least for people mostly traveling domestically in the US. They control the market.
jrapdx3 12y ago
It does seem loyalty to an airline would decline if not rewarded. Recent changes reduce the reward and likely undermine loyalty. But how much do carriers care at this point? Two factors likely contribute to policy decisions of the airlines. Mergers produce less competition, and secondly, it's quite noticeable over the last couple of years that every flight is packed full. Consequently, a shortage of seats assures carrier income which makes loyalty much less relevant, in particular loyalty that's tightly linked to miles traveled. OTOH loyalty programs connected to credit cards are probably more profitable to airlines, and in today's world more effective in maintaining loyalty too.

apendleton 12y ago

Two things: firstly, the analysis I've seen suggests that some kinds of business travels lose and some gain, depending on the travel patterns -- in particular, frequent short-duration flyers (e.g., people who commute from DC to NYC twice a week) gain, while infrequent long-distance travelers (e.g., people racking up miles going NYC to Shanghai a few times a year) lose. So maybe the airlines think they'll one class of traveler for every one of another class that they lose? Secondly, the overarching assumption is that American (and its alliance) will follow the other major players and switch once the merger is done, at which point there won't really be anywhere to go, at least for people mostly traveling domestically in the US. They control the market.

jrapdx3 12y ago

It does seem loyalty to an airline would decline if not rewarded. Recent changes reduce the reward and likely undermine loyalty. But how much do carriers care at this point? Two factors likely contribute to policy decisions of the airlines. Mergers produce less competition, and secondly, it's quite noticeable over the last couple of years that every flight is packed full. Consequently, a shortage of seats assures carrier income which makes loyalty much less relevant, in particular loyalty that's tightly linked to miles traveled. OTOH loyalty programs connected to credit cards are probably more profitable to airlines, and in today's world more effective in maintaining loyalty too.