History Repeats - Ansett passing, 10 years later

[Justchecking]

Actually I think Teal has lost the plot slightly. FFP and lounges are a marketing strategy put in place by businesses. When was the last time a business provided something without an expectation of return? Anytime access to a lounge is pretty expensive, it will cost you $8,000-$10,000 a year in repeat business to maintain it. Priority boarding costs the company a few hundred bucks in signage and lane tapes but you have to spend, spend and spend some more in order to use it. Advance seat selection, extra luggage allowance and a free move to an earlier flight are all value adds that cost the company little (since the infrastructure is already there to support it and would otherwise be unused) but you, the FF have to channel your loyalty to that one company in order to make status the next year and continue with your freebies. In many cases it can be cheaper for the individual to simply buy the seats with all the bells and whistles when they fly than to try and maintain status with an airline. But elite status is like the sirens who relentlessly call FF's to their doom with the cool factor or being 'Elite'.

 

[harvyk]

OK I think I understood what the OP wanted (BTW interesting choice of username) and to that I respond...

We as consumers are entitled to ask for as much as we can at a minimum price. Over the millennia various cultures have even come to call this practise “haggling”. It is upto each side to decide if the deal on offer is worth while or not.

In the event that the customer negociates a deal which is unprofitable for the company, well that’s just bad luck for the company. If the customer keeps negociating deals which are bad for the company, well that’s just bad management.

Of course during the “haggling” the company can say “this is our best price” and tell the customer than if it wants the product at a lower price they would need to find another provider.
Now if the customer “haggles” a price down to below what is sustainable for the company is it’s the customers fault? A customer is entitled to state what price they are willing to pay for a good or service, can it be their fault if a company says “yes, we can give you the good \ service for that price” when in reality they can’t?

What happened to Ansett 10 years ago is certainly sad, but is not the fault of the customers who where asking for more.