I have written far more atta-boy letters than complaints to U and I really would like to see U, and the industry pull out of this slump. I recognize that the recent fare and FF credit policy change announcements may be to test the waters as opposed to permanent, but they concern me as I don''t see the rationale from a FF perspective. Perhaps some of you can help me understand.
As a US1 for the past 5yrs and PG+ before that I have been a loyal customer. While U is my preferred carrier I also fly on numerous other carriers and have been a Silver Elite on CO and a Premier Executive on UA some years. I don''t live in a U hub. I choose U primarily because #1 - Your FF program is one of the best(CO is also very good), #2 In my experience the great majority of U staff are professional, courteous and friendly and #3 Living in VA gives me several ARPT options to use U from.
I don''t understand the no stand-by rule for NRF''s. If a customer is denied the opportunity to take an open seat that goes unused how does that benefit revenue and/or the customer relationship? Perhaps charging a reasonable fee for this option with a NRF would be a sensible middle ground. Sometimes when I have gotten on as a stand-by I have freed up a seat on a later flight that was over booked. Wasn''t that a double bonus? A good deal for me and for U?
The concept of not accruing status miles for discount fares really troubles me as I think that it will impact U in two negative ways #1 - Customers will no longer have the strong FF incentive to choose U above other carriers with similar fares and #2 - Some FF''s will simply decide not to travel as much. Allow me to explain.
The first is easy - If I can''t accrue loyalty benefits the incentive to be loyal is greatly diminished. This applies to almost any business, not just airlines. With the down-turn in the tech sector and stock market plus the fall-out from 9-11 there is a lot of pressure to keep travel costs down. Many of U''s FF''s have worked hard to be loyal. For example I have only been able to use U because I''m willing to drive to GSO or RDU to get a competitive fare when necessary and I tracked it for our Controller proving that I was not costing the company extra $ - otherwise our normal travel policy prohibits carriers of choice and selects the cheapest fare. This is typical and thus many FF''s are compelled to seek out discount fares. If you fly 100k+/yr, or even 50k the benefits of an elite level make the hassles much more managable and tolerable. Most business FF''s will tell you that without the elite benefits, the down-side of heavy travel outweighs the upside. So my fear is that if U is alone on this poolicy it will loose its most loyal customers, and if the whole industry goes this route, that the whole industry will see yet another downturn in the number of FF''s. People will just decide that they are not going to travel as much. Sure there will always be a small percentage who can regularly book non discount fares, but their numbers are small. Maybe my perception is all wrong and the number crunchers have looked at a statistically accurate sample of FF''s/fares booked, etc. If not, someone has not done their homework and that is always very dangerous.
I may write to Crystal City, but I think that I''ll wait a week or two to see how the initial dust settles. There must be a reasonable compromise available that would help boost revenue while also retaining the incentives for FF''s to remain loyal to U. It is unfortunate that the new policies seem to have been rolled out without an ability to see the whole picture. All the customers see at this point is the downside to them. Not a very desirable situation. I''m hopeful that a reasonable option can be found, but as I said in the beginning - this loyal U customer is concerned.
As a US1 for the past 5yrs and PG+ before that I have been a loyal customer. While U is my preferred carrier I also fly on numerous other carriers and have been a Silver Elite on CO and a Premier Executive on UA some years. I don''t live in a U hub. I choose U primarily because #1 - Your FF program is one of the best(CO is also very good), #2 In my experience the great majority of U staff are professional, courteous and friendly and #3 Living in VA gives me several ARPT options to use U from.
I don''t understand the no stand-by rule for NRF''s. If a customer is denied the opportunity to take an open seat that goes unused how does that benefit revenue and/or the customer relationship? Perhaps charging a reasonable fee for this option with a NRF would be a sensible middle ground. Sometimes when I have gotten on as a stand-by I have freed up a seat on a later flight that was over booked. Wasn''t that a double bonus? A good deal for me and for U?
The concept of not accruing status miles for discount fares really troubles me as I think that it will impact U in two negative ways #1 - Customers will no longer have the strong FF incentive to choose U above other carriers with similar fares and #2 - Some FF''s will simply decide not to travel as much. Allow me to explain.
The first is easy - If I can''t accrue loyalty benefits the incentive to be loyal is greatly diminished. This applies to almost any business, not just airlines. With the down-turn in the tech sector and stock market plus the fall-out from 9-11 there is a lot of pressure to keep travel costs down. Many of U''s FF''s have worked hard to be loyal. For example I have only been able to use U because I''m willing to drive to GSO or RDU to get a competitive fare when necessary and I tracked it for our Controller proving that I was not costing the company extra $ - otherwise our normal travel policy prohibits carriers of choice and selects the cheapest fare. This is typical and thus many FF''s are compelled to seek out discount fares. If you fly 100k+/yr, or even 50k the benefits of an elite level make the hassles much more managable and tolerable. Most business FF''s will tell you that without the elite benefits, the down-side of heavy travel outweighs the upside. So my fear is that if U is alone on this poolicy it will loose its most loyal customers, and if the whole industry goes this route, that the whole industry will see yet another downturn in the number of FF''s. People will just decide that they are not going to travel as much. Sure there will always be a small percentage who can regularly book non discount fares, but their numbers are small. Maybe my perception is all wrong and the number crunchers have looked at a statistically accurate sample of FF''s/fares booked, etc. If not, someone has not done their homework and that is always very dangerous.
I may write to Crystal City, but I think that I''ll wait a week or two to see how the initial dust settles. There must be a reasonable compromise available that would help boost revenue while also retaining the incentives for FF''s to remain loyal to U. It is unfortunate that the new policies seem to have been rolled out without an ability to see the whole picture. All the customers see at this point is the downside to them. Not a very desirable situation. I''m hopeful that a reasonable option can be found, but as I said in the beginning - this loyal U customer is concerned.