elite frequent flyers

Tag Archives for elite frequent flyers.

How Many Flyers Were Elite Before The Pandemic, And How Many Elites Are Flying Today?

by Gary Leff

Oct 26 2020

American Airlines Senior Vice President Vasu Raja explained that: “it used to be that 25% of the people that sat on our airplanes were AAdvantage elites… Today that number is about 15%.”

So how many people would make top status under ‘normal’ requirements this year? Raja says “there’s about 1000 customers out there who would qualify for Executive Platinum under our old rules. 40% to 50% of those were not our customer last year, they were [elites with another carrier].”

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Why Higher Spending Requirements Put Elite Status on a Collision Course With Itself

by Gary Leff

airline seats
Oct 14 2019

Status does a great job motivating customers who buy coach, or at least fly coach a substantial portion of the time – for instance the road warrior whose company will spring for business class internationally once or twice a year but has a rule of 6 hours or more for premium cabin so domestic trips are mostly out up front.

Status does almost nothing to motivate someone who buys all premium cabin tickets. When elite status spending requirements are so high they’re met primarily by people who buy first class, elite status is meaningless.

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A New Way to Describe Elites Rushing the Gate to Board

by Gary Leff

Why Charlotte Needs Another American Airlines Admirals Club
Aug 05 2019

There are all sorts of tales and frustrations around passengers crowding the boarding line. Those who line up early, blocking the way for passengers in early boarding groups, are sometimes derisively referred to as “gate lice.” The sort of passenger who doesn’t know the drill, that it isn’t time for them to board yet, is the once a year (at most) flyer sometimes referred to as a “kettle” (as in ‘Ma’ and Pa’ Kettle).

But Ms. Blumenthal turns this elitism on its head, offering us the platinum push off to describe the elite who knocks everyone out of the way as their boarding group is called. Her husband, she says, is a master.

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