Two Frequent Flier stories, two major media companies, one winner
USA Today and the New York times wrote stories on May 10 that look at airline frequent flier programs. USA Today did what you would expect (their headline was “Airlines keep VIP clubs to keep fliers,” well, duh.) They wrote a rote story on the current state of the frequent flier business.
The NY Times went way beyond that. They packed detail after juicy detail into an article about how airlines treat their super-super-elite passengers with a club that eclipses the top level of their frequent flier programs. They looked at the history of these programs, and got some good material on what their future is.
Here’s the nut graf from the story:
On United and on other airlines, members of the secretive, invitation-only clubs are met at the airport by employees and whisked past the check-in line. They wait for their flights in unmarked V.I.P. lounges and are offered liberal upgrades and personalized attention by airline employees. And at a time when airlines are obsessed with improving their on-time records, it is not uncommon for a plane to be held for a super-elite member who is stuck in traffic.
Read the entire article (link good until May 24, after that it moves to the paid archives)
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