Etihad’s big announcement about the most luxurious travel product in commercial aviation has been all the rage. I’d love to fly it, but the truth is I’m not going to. It’s way too pricey for me and at this point there’s no reasonable way to access it with miles.
I’m not going to tell you ‘get this and that credit card and you’ll be 3% of the way there.’
No, it’s just out of reach of most of us. Sure you could manufacture $1 million of spend on a 2% cash back card.. but even then there are things most of us would do with that $20,000 other than fly a single 7 hour flight from London to Abu Dhabi.
But Lucky who writes the One Mile at a Time blog wants to make a play for it.
He posted a Kickstarter project to fund him to travel on the new Etihad 3-room First Class Residence onboard their A380.
Lucky flies all over the world, sampling airline products, and writing about them. His blog is successful enough that it – combined with booking awards (he’s my competition) – has become his career. Nonetheless, he doesn’t have a corporate parent to fund his trips and he’s not going to shell out the $20,000 one-way to try out the Residence.
So he asked his readers, if they’d like him to fly and review a product that they wouldn’t otherwise get to see up front, could they chip in to cover the cost?
Frankly it’s worth $5 or even $25 to me to read his take on the product, so I should probably be willing to support the effort. He won’t do it unless the people who value it will help cover the cost, and I respect that. The way kickstarter works, supporters are only charged for their pledge if the goal for funding is reached. If it’s not, there’s no payment due.
Not everyone thinks so, however. An American spokesperson, Leslie Scott, kind of lost it over Ben’s effort.
Edited to add these additional tweets criticizing everyone who contributed:
Bear in mind that buying tickets on Etihad is something that American is supposed to be promoting since American and Etihad are partners, after all.
So…
- Is it now American Airlines’ policy to publicly condemn their Executive Platinum flyers on social media?
- Is it now American Airlines’ policy to denigrate the importance of purchasing tickets on their partner airlines?
Of course up until about a month ago this American spokesperson had been with Delta for 6 years. So that’s probably just how they do it over there.
Perhaps more importantly: what do you think of this effort? Is it spectacularly awesome, or spectacularly wasteful? (Or both?)
(HT: @jeanne23)
Update: it appears that Ms. Scott has apologized, and her boss tweeted “Tweets from our personal accounts are our own. #heartintherightplace”
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The hubris and privledge to ask readers who he makes money off to support give him their money so he can fly has to be a joke because no one could be that clueless and disrespectful to people he counts on for support.
I think whether you like it or not, she represents AA, and should act accordingly. When the spokesperson, nonetheless, publicly denigrates a customer publicly, I don’t care if it’s her view or not, I would remove this “spokesperson” immediately. Completely unacceptable. But she’s from DL, so that’s probably how they treat their elites anyway.
Hardly ‘blasted’ him – it is wasteful. Promoting flying on partners – sure. Taking donations that might otherwise go to another cause, just to fly a dude for a really expensive mileage run? That might be the definition of waste.
If I were her, I would remove her affiliation with AA in her twitter bio – but really, there’s no scandal here, and she wasn’t even that rude.
1. This Kickstarter campaign is absurd. It’s bad enough that he spends his time flying around the world for kicks and taking up award seats that other people may need, but now he wants us to pay for it? No thanks.
2. Leslie’s entitled to her opinion, especially if it comes from her personal account. Frankly, there wasn’t anything in her tweets that’s offensive or that the majority of people would even disagree with.
3. The fact that he’s an Executive Platinum is irrelevant. Does one’s status with an airline (or in life generally) change whether their actions are fundamentally right or wrong? Besides, he’s only Executive Platinum because of mileage runs and cheap mistake fares. That’s not the kind of customer airlines should really value.
4. Denigrating the importance of purchasing partner tickets? That’s a bit of a stretch here.
5. I agree with Cam. I expected more from you. I read your blog because you generally offer insightful commentary on aviation rather than just flogging credit cards constantly like the other guys. This is the kind of post I’d expect to find on TPG or milevalue.
@Seth “When businesses need money to produce a product they seek investors who in turn demand a piece of the business for their money…” That’s not how kickstarter works at all.
First of all, I don’t have any problem with Ben starting a campaign to raise money to fly that product. The idea either clearly did not come from Ben to begin with, or it did and he just is hiding behind nameless readers to justify it. I belief the former. And, backlash over the campaign seems misplaced. It’s not like a lot of people who are donating to Ben’s campaign would otherwise be donating to more worth causes. Some might, but probably not many.
As to the American Airlines spokesperson, I have no problem with her doing that either, but I am not her employer. I’ll leave that up to AA. If she thinks the campaign is stupid (Which Ben readily admits himself) then that is her opinion. She does get into trouble identifying herself as an AA spokesperson, and the easiest way to avoid any trouble would be to delete that identifier from her profile.
@dhammer53 — Multiply by 10. Don’t be fooled by the “I can’t afford it” comments. Gary’s comment that “it’s way too pricey for me” is at least genuine.
@Joe- I don’t think Lucky is being realistic about it at all. He goes on and on about how its a crazy idea and expresses discomfort about it, but in the end he is asking his readers to pony up for 100% of the ticket. If he really felt all that bad about it, he wouldn’t be asking. By going on and on about his discomfort he is trying to rationalize things in his own mind by telling himself that his readers are aware of the situation and are making the decision to donate on their own. He is basically trying to washi his hands of any role in the ridiculous scheme.
I agree that TPG is very distasteful about his philanthropy, but at least he does something (though how much he really cares is questionable given how he seeks to make miles off his donations). As far as we can tell Lucky does absolutely nothing but profit off his blog. Like it or not he is a semi-public figure. He should use his clout to do some good rather than just profit off of it.
I’d like to add another point about how it is even more distasteful for Lucky to ask for 100% of the cost of the ticket. Like all bloggers Lucky often spends his own money (or his parents) on flights for the purpose of writing posts. If this flight is too rich for his blood, he should still at least pay what he believe it is worth. Asking his readers to pay the entire way makes this even more distasteful.
Who cares what the lady said, I find the request by the blogger to be completely stupid as she said. What will be the review: “I sat in a 3 room First Class product and it was amazing”.
$20,000 can go along way towards FAR more important causes.
How to get yourself fired from American Airlines by Leslie Scott…
Seems that many (most?) commenters here haven’t actually read Lucky’s post, where he specifically says that this idea is “totally ridiculous and there are so many better ways you can spend your money”; he even bolds that to make it clear. If people think it’s a bad idea, don’t donate.
I also want to point out that most major companies (including my own employer) have social media policies which clarify who can post what as it relates to work. My own firm makes clear that I am not permitted to disparage our customers on social media even if using my personal account. And I’m not anywhere near our social media team; this policy applies to *all* employees. This woman made a spectacularly stupid decision to publicly disparage a customer using a social media account that calls out her own professional affiliation (even with the flimsy disclaimer). I simply don’t see how anyone can defend her behaviour, and I believe she deserves disciplinary action, possibly up to termination. Imagine a fast food employee in uniform, on a smoke break, talking loudly and in range of other people about how stupid one of their recent customers is. Anyone who expects him not to be severely disciplined is delusional. Same applies to this woman.
I doubt Etihad wants Lucky flying their product anyway. Not even close to throwing them under the bus by AA. You’re fabricating news cuz lucky’s your boy. This was a really useless post and poorly written.
@John F. – “You simply can’t make enough money doing this to support yourself and fly the globe everyday.”
And how would you know that? How do you know that Lucky can’t support himself financially doing what he does?
Lucky is contributed so much to our hobby and is always available to answer questions, whether it be via “ask lucky” on his blog or twitter. I pay for my subscription to the economist and I see no problem in paying for a post, a post that will be extremely expense to produce.
In regards to Ms. Scott, she might have just committed career suicide and personally, I will be boycotting AA until she is removed from her position.
I won’t be contributing to Ben’s KickStarter campaign but I think it’s a creative idea on his part. Contributing is obviously strictly voluntary. I can’t see why using this method of raising money to provide a review of the service is any more offensive that a magazine for which you pay a subscription that uses the income to fund articles (less so, I think, because an individual’s decision to fund this particular article is more tightly tied to the decision to contribute.
Indeed, if large amount of money that’s proposed to be spent on this trip is offensive doesn’t that mean that the very EXISTENCE of these high-end first class products is offensive? I’m not sure that’s a line that a representative of American Airlines wants to be pushing.
Finally, those who are on Gary’s case — you’re being silly. This AA representative publicly published her intemperate comments on Twitter. Not only are they fair game for Gary’s commentary but it’s quite reasonable to expect that she was intending to provoke a public debate.
People, donate your money to better cause. Not to this stupid idea. I like Ben but this is just a waste. There are many better projects or donations to help in this World
@ seth — Come on, you know Lucky’s parents are not funding his travel. Maybe when he was 14, but certainly not now…
@John-Paul- Read my post above at #51. What Lucky is doing by saying it is crazy is rationalizing. He is shifting responsibility for the whole scheme to his readers.
You’re right, you don’t have to donate if you don’t like it. But it doesn’t mean we can’t express our distaste at the idea. Lucky is a public figure and as such is open to criticism for his public actions.
@Gene- I never said they were funding it. I said if they were, it makes things worse. Your assertion that they aren’t funding his business has no more proof than the assertion that they are.
for one, I do think it is creative of Lucky to set this up. while i don’t agree it is a valid ask, people have a clear choice to vote with their wallets.
as far as Gary ‘publicizing’ this, i am quite sure AA already knew. in this day in age of being able to blast our opinions to the world, it is even more important to not do so.
if she just worked for AA in a back of the house position i might feel differently, but she still should not have done it. being a spokesperson especially she should not have done it at all. maybe if she left off the idiot part it could be taken as just some random persons opinion, however, calling out any customer/business/etc is not right in any regard, no matter how much you dislike that person or their ideals.
I don’t see the difference in this if 2,000 people pay for a movie ticket and those that pay for this. Entertainment and educational.
Blast is too strong of a word, for her twitter post. It is a none story, You might end up getting her fired. 95% her fault 1-5% your fault.
I am hoping you don’t consider yourself a journalist.
She shouldn’t have said she is the AA spokesperson on her personal twitter account – blurs the line between what is personal and what is work, particularly when your job is a spokesperson. That being said, she can have opinions and if she personally feels money going towards Lucky’s kickstarter campaign (brilliant and ridiculous, btw) could be better spent elsewhere, then she shouldn’t be criticized for that as being an AA employee’s statement.
What a skewed post. This is a perfect example of the arrogance that you and Ben share. I’m guessing you are simply jealous you won’t be doing the Residence.
I find it HILARIOUS that people would have the audacity to suggest they know more about what ‘other’ people should do with their money.
I find it equally HILARIOUS that people who follow travel blogs and go to great ends to gain status and accrue miles , etc. (some would argue also a frivolous endeavor when there are starving children in this world) would think they have the moral high ground.
Lucky was totally upfront about his intentions and people who donate derive value from it. End of story. Sheesh.
Welcome back @Tyler!
@ seth — ok, true.
Wow… some passionate posts. I think you guys gotta take a step back and not take yourselves so seriously. I was under the impression that Lucky’s kickstarter campaign was a joke, a creative way to to illustrate the decadence of the product. I don’t think anyone really thinks he will be successful in his fundraising.
This is the first thing that has come from American Airlines’ corporate communications team in years that is the unqualified truth. Good for you, Leslie Scott.
I think Leslie Scott had better start looking for a new job, ideally not in PR. She seems to have no skills in that area. I say this as a retired PR person.
I agree with Leslie Scott. Good tweet!
I guess she did not have a good night of sleep. She could be fired for having “fat fingers”!!! Funny that people don’t realize that “venting” on the internet is not something you can just apologize. It will be all over and people will not forget. If I were her I would be updating my resume 🙂 Oh, she used to work for Delta? Got it!!!!
“I find it equally HILARIOUS that people who follow travel blogs and go to great ends to gain status and accrue miles , etc. (some would argue also a frivolous endeavor when there are starving children in this world) would think they have the moral high ground.”
Just so. Irony abounds. I’m also struck by the lack of civility in quite a number of posts. Those writing them must be doing so for their own pleasure as the sneering and even hateful tone in a number of them make them, shall we say, less than persuasive.
Publicly calling someone an ‘idiot’ is rude in my book. Lord help us all! Lots of ways to help others, but also enjoy life. Some people seem to take this game way to seriously IMHO. BTW I’m in for $10.
Wow! All of the people who have commented that Ben “Lucky” does not have a real business and travels the world on his parents dime don’t have a clue how much real bloggers with heavy traffic can make. Use your brains or maybe just use the new internet thing to do some research. Think about it for a second. With the exception of Gary almost every single travel blogger has quit their jobs and done it full time. TPG was working on Wall Street and quit (and he doesn’t appear to be living frugal life style now) You can make a very high income with a large audience just on ad revenue. Add on top of that credit card sign ups and there is serious money. Add on top of that the consulting/ff booking business that most of them are so busy with they hire help and you have a level of income were you should be glad it falls under business tax laws and not personal income.
Just search for the blogger “Mr Money Mustache” and how he was making $4000/month JUST FROM CHASE!!
Quit hatin Start your own blog. I don’t think these bloggers are writing posts about how the Ink sign up just increase because it gets them excited (well it probably does get them excited because they are going to make so much money)
I was about to write something, but Victor expressed my sentiments exactly. Lucky doesn’t have a gun to anyone’s head, demanding money. He is not being duplicitous. If you don’t want to (or are offended at the thought of) funding him, then don’t. It’s that simple. Move on.
With Lucky’s post yesterday and now this post, it makes me sad to be part of this community.
American Airlines, the non-profit charity organization.
He jumped the shark with that promo, and its judgement doesn’t reflect well on the community.
Looks like she will soon be taking some time off to “spend more time with my family”. If American doesn’t fire her immediately, then we know exactly how they feel about their flyers – idiots.
The, gee whiz, gosh, this is such a silly idea he is putting out is so disingenuous and is a great way to attract the sheeple he seems to attract to fund this selfish endeavor.
Kickstarter was NOT set up for funding a lifestyle.
I have cut way back on reading a lot of the BA blogs. I will now not bother with OMAAT. Yeah, I know, don’t let the door hit me in the ass.
I won’t.
My respect for a number of bloggers has gone way down.
@Rob – AA may not be charitable, but they have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free travel to charities – and that’s just a few that I know of. Don’t get me wrong: AA is not-so-good airline with not-so-good management. But I’ll guess that they have done far more for charity than any of these bloggers…
I’d like to hear Leslie’s opinion on people paying $30k to fly MIA-NRT via AA in F. So wasteful.
What about mileage runners?
We are all entitled to our opinions, including how we judge others. We also bear the responsibility for expressing them.
@Other Joe, while I try to do what I can charitably I am sure that a major corporation like American Airlines has done far more than I have as an individual.
She’s updated her twitter profile to just say “airline spokesperson” now 🙂
Very unprofessional to call anyone an idiot. I’ll be surprised if she keeps her job. Calling customers names isn’t good at all. So did come from Delta though. …..
I have to agree with the “American spokesperson’s” comments. Virtually what amounts to a studio apartment on a commercial airline is totally wasteful and is embarrassing. WTF…the carbon footprint alone is crazy.
Do you think American Airlines will fire Lauren Scott with no notice, just like the no notice changes to their Awards program, or have they learned her lesson and will not give her 2 weeks notice on her termination of employment with them?
If she thinks this way about Lucky with how much contempt do you think she feels for other frequent fliers who try and redeem award tickets with her airline?
All I can say is, I have always been an avid reader of Lucky’s stuff…until now. What an entitled little piece of shit.
Looking forward to the follow-on effort, “Kickstarter: Help Lucky Afford The Prostitute For The Second Seat In His Villa So He Can Finally Break The Seal And Become A Man”.
Sorry for how vile I sound, but this is truly one of the most disgustingly selfish asks I have ever seen.