As Oil Prices – And Fuel Surcharges – Rise, How Can Airlines Avoid Killing Loyalty Programs? [Roundup]

by Gary Leff

News and notes from around the interweb:

  • Frontier adds a $250 million termination fee in the event their acquisition of Spirit isn’t consummated “for antitrust reasons.” JetBlue’s higher offer has a termination fee, this takes away the argument that Spirit shareholders are better off with JetBlue if DOJ successfully acts against any deal.

    Ultimately the Frontier-Spirit deal is for less money, and Spirit shareholders shouldn’t be happy about that. But there’s little question that it will face a lower level of government scrutiny than JetBlue’s offer. Frontier is probably underpaying, and JetBlue’s hostile offer overpaying.

  • New category 1 Hyatt in San Miguel de Allende, no first-hand experience but a nice-looking Unbound Collection hotel. Category 1 properties run 3500 points (low season) to 6500 points (peak season per night. This could turn out to be a gem (or not).

  • YQ Endgame: How can airlines avoid killing their loyalty programmes?

  • One wonders where employees get these ideas from. For what it’s worth AirTran used to actually have a two drink limit in business class, but they eliminated that policy around 2004 – years before being acquired by Southwest.

  • Video review of the new United Club at Newark that customers have been waiting years for.

  • But with short Charlotte connecting times, how did federal agents have time to catch him?

    A man has been arrested for trying to traffic cocaine through the Charlotte Douglas International Airport…11 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in the seat of a motorized wheelchair. Federal agents said Lopez-Morel faked a disability trying to smuggle the drugs in the wheelchair.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Airlines have been killing their loyalty programs for years.
    In fact, they are almost dead.

  3. If it’s legal to do so, would be interesting for an airline to experiment with waiving YQ on award tix for (a) elites and/or (b) co-brand cardholders. Would increase relative value of status or card as airlines go on raising YQ for everyone else.

  4. On the YQ article, I do wonder how mileage programs will continue to evolve. It always seems like the mix of discounted business class, discounted awards and upgrades for miles is constantly shifting among airlines, so loyalty of frequent flyers is not exactly being rewarded, but I’m not sure they view loyalty as having value, at least while a lot of the (reduced) flights are still full. Maybe they will just become a discounted price program tied to credit cards.

  5. One way business in Delta from Washington to London on any date in September – 375,000 SkyPesos.

    Rewards programs are indeed dead.

  6. @rjb Delta offers pretty consistent value at $0.01 per mile. While partners are offering cheaper prices on IAD-LHR, Delta’s fare for a one-way ticket in C is in the $4000 range. There are occasions to get good value from skymiles, but premium tatl is never going to be it.

  7. That flight charging for the second drink in first has spent too much time serving 1k in coach. I would let them try to charge a first class passenger, and would be shocked if the charge actually went through.

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