At one time in my traveling life I was a devoted NWA Elite Traveler. I thought nothing of paying $150 more for a ticket at a less convenient time. I was focused on the end goal:earn enough frequent flier points to qualify for an ELITE status.
This morning I woke up feeling badly for NWA ELITE fliers. Your world is about to turn upside down and its not going to feel very good. Been there. Done that.
When you have to "share" premium space with all those Delta privileged fliers--the perks will be harder to come by.
While the merger--if it goes through--- marks the end of an 82 year era in Minnesota --nearly 11 thousand employees are based here -about 1000 in the suburban Minneapolis headquarters --it could also be the end of frequent flier programs as we know them.
It was a rude awakening for me in 2002 when I no longer qualified for the elite status and had to start boarding the plane with the "normal folk." In a post I called " The End Of The Affair" I described the feelings of being jilted as a frequent flier.
Ironically the post was based on my experience flying ATA --an airlines that bit the dust last week.
I didn't earn any worldperks on my flight to Chicago yesterday. My affair with Northwest and its frequent flyer program has a chink in its chain.
I not only flew ATA,I signed up for ATA's frequent flyer program. Now codesharing with Southwest Airlines, I can earn a companion ticket by just taking 3 trips. I can earn a free ticket with just 6 round trips. So my 6 trips to Chicago are as valuable to this airline as if I traveled 25,000 miles on Northwest. I like that.
But here's the real reason I'm ending my love affair with Northwest--I've been feeling like a jilted lover for the past couple of years.
I didn't realize it until yesterday. But, I've actually been feel bad every time I fly Northwest. See, I used to be an ELITE flyer but I lost my status when I stopped flying 25,000 miles each year.
It's not easy to be a regular coach traveler after you've lived the life of an ELITE. It's not easy to watch all those other smug ELITES enjoy the perks that I once enjoyed.
I used to be the person that got to board the plane early.
I used to be the person who could tuck their TravelPro in the overhead bin without fear that they'd run out of room.
I used to get upgraded to first class.
Now, I'm nothing more than a peon coach traveler to Northwest. To them, I am now less than.
Of course this fretting over frequent flier points and perks could be a bit premature. A lot can happen before the airline's merger is approved by The Justice Department. In a January article The New York Times reported that mergers are not good for the bottom line.
But close scrutiny of the business rationale for airline mergers suggests that any improved profits from consolidation will likely be short-lived, at best. Any cost reductions, for example, could easily be eaten up by higher wages required to win labor’s support for a deal. And because one big merger could prompt a second — Continental Airlines is expected by many analysts to snap up United, Northwest or another carrier as a defensive gesture against Delta — any advantage provided by a bigger route system might be quickly neutralized.
As I write this, business reporters on MSNBC are saying that Continental and United are in talks for a merger which would make them the biggest carrier.
Oh and that itsy bitsy little detail that Northwest Airlines committed to the state of Minnesota last year that it would keep its headquarters in Minnesota for exchange for financial breaks .
Under a current agreement with the Metropolitan Airports Commission, the new Delta could be forced to immediately pay off $245 million in bond debt if the Northwest headquarters in Minnesota is closed.
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