We’re launching a Qantas Status Run service + free giveaway

[Jacques Vert]

And there is also the opportunity cost. For example, why would a highly skilled heart surgeon spend an hour, or hours, searching for award flights when they could earn many multiples of the fee spending an extra day in surgery or conducting an additional clinic?

And when they do have a day off, wouldn't they prefer to spend it with family or on the golf course?

I’m not talking about intellectual property Law. I’m saying that you’re paying for something to be found that isn’t readily apparent, that’s IP being exchanged. If it was freely available and obvious, there world be no market for it .



I mentioned that I’ve used the service and several occasions. One was for a return trip to Europe in J at peak time and the other was a more complicated one. But it doesn’t matter whether it’s simple or complicated. It’s simply a matter of whether a person is prepared to pay for service to find award seats rather than doing it themselves .


I said I haven’t seen them sharing itineraries but if there is a time delay in providing a service and publishing it then you’d have to assume that award seats, being rare as they are, would not still be around.

I’ve simply opined that I don’t think people should share their results on AFF of an AFF service that they’ve paid for, when AFF thinks they can do something for a customer that the customer can’t do the for themselves.

 

[Frequent Flyer Concierge]

Thank you everyone for your comments and feedback. All opinions are greatly appreciated!

The winners of our giveaway are @patrickw and @Flyfrequently - thank you again for those who expressed interest!

Also, I'd like to hopefully clear up a few prevailing questions.

- We have no problem if someone chooses to share what they've been provided, using this service - in fact, that's a great way for the community to get a sense of whether it's worth it or not. The question of whether to share what they've paid for is solely up to the customer purchasing the service.

- The point of the service is to provide a personalised status run based on the individual customer's travel dates, point of origin, other preferences, and so on. We are experts in this and do our own research - please rest assured that we're not trawling through the forums just to steal members' ideas! From a personal point of view, if through the course of researching a particular itinerary, I find a great status run that I feel will benefit the community, I'd be inclined to post it - AFF is the way it is through the sharing of information, rather than gatekeeping.

- This service is more built for those who are lacking the experience of many veterans on AFF, or those who simply don't have the time to be constantly searching on airline websites to optimise their run. This is similar to the Concierge service for reward flights - for some, the search is part of the fun, and I totally get it! Just for others, searching is a pain.

- We'd consider doing something along the lines of 'status run optimisation' in the future. But for now, the focus is on building itineraries from scratch.

Regards,
Wilson (on behalf of Frequent Flyer Concierge)

 

[henrus]

- We have no problem if someone chooses to share what they've been provided, using this service - in fact, that's a great way for the community to get a sense of whether it's worth it or not. The question of whether to share what they've paid for is solely up to the customer purchasing the service.

Excellent stuff Wilson, hope in the future someone (after they've booked) is willing to share to see the quality of the product.

 

[levelnine]

I’m not talking about intellectual property Law. I’m saying that you’re paying for something to be found that isn’t readily apparent, that’s IP being exchanged. If it was freely available and obvious, there world be no market for it .

You can't call something intellectual property that isn't intellectual property. It makes no sense. You might as well call it a pony or boat.

People pay money for things that are not intellectual property all the time. You pay your doctor for a medical diagnosis. It doesn't mean that diagnosis is intellectual property.

I mentioned that I’ve used the service and several occasions. One was for a return trip to Europe in J at peak time and the other was a more complicated one. But it doesn’t matter whether it’s simple or complicated. It’s simply a matter of whether a person is prepared to pay for service to find award seats rather than doing it themselves .

You are the one that made the claim, not me: 'they are finding them one way or another on the date wished for and usually not just one award flight but something like around the world with about six flights in J and also stitch them together. '

I said I haven’t seen them sharing itineraries but if there is a time delay in providing a service and publishing it then you’d have to assume that award seats, being rare as they are, would not still be around.

I’ve simply opined that I don’t think people should share their results on AFF of an AFF service that they’ve paid for, when AFF thinks they can do something for a customer that the customer can’t do the for themselves.

Unless people have signed a contract with AFF that states they are not to share it, they are morally and legally free to share it.

 

[RooFlyer]

You can't call something intellectual property that isn't intellectual property. It makes no sense. You might as well call it a pony or boat.

People pay money for things that are not intellectual property all the time. You pay your doctor for a medical diagnosis. It doesn't mean that diagnosis is intellectual property.

I really don’t know why you continue to debate or argue this point. Choosing a definition of IP at random

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

You can sell the rights to use images you have created and access to your words if they have a value on the open market. A report derived from mental exertion and investigation unquestioningly qualifies as IP.

Unless people have signed a contract with AFF that states they are not to share it, they are morally and legally free to share it.

I think we found the crux of the matter. Legally, yes; I think morally is too strong a word - maybe not ethical - but I would simply say I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. YMMV

As we are nowhere near on the same wavelength as to the basic premise I can’t see any point in continuing this.

 

[CaptJCool]

We can have different opinions on that (I was giving a genuine response to your question as sarcasm doesn't work well online).

I think KPC raised some valid points and concerns around monetising every single thing - having a background of ownership helps to understand why this is a trend.

Would we expect anything different when it’s an airline FF site ? Airlines - Renown for them pricing practices

Well, sure, that's the quid pro quo; anything posted on-line is free for anyone to pick up. And yes, saving the juiciest tips for off-line has long been the practice. I discovered that attending AFF events is the pest place to discover these, talking personally to some of the better informed

Pesty ?
Like bees to the honeypot

 

[levelnine]

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

None of which is a status run or a search of a website to find a status run.

Stop to consider what would be protected property if that were the case. You run a search on Google, write it up and post it on the web. Now no one can run the same search without your consent ...

I think we found the crux of the matter. Legally, yes; I think morally is too strong a word - maybe not ethical - but I would simply say I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. YMMV

As we are nowhere near on the same wavelength as to the basic premise I can’t see any point in continuing this.

Even when the person providing the service has no problem with it? As is the case here ...

 

[JessicaTam]

[mod hat]
Enough of the IP and related off topic discussion thanks.
[/mod hat]

 

[Lexolot]

I'd be interested too! I'm so sick of doing the AKL-MEL-OOL run.

 

[flyguy77]

I'd be interested too! I'm so sick of doing the AKL-MEL-OOL run.

I'd prefer somewhere more exotic than Auckland BUT the issue is - it's usually the best value - so quite likely you'd pay a fee to be told the same thing.

 

[sudoer]

I'd prefer somewhere more exotic than Auckland

Tried and tested DPS run. It's not perfect, but it's better than Auckland IMO.