Big changes to delta skymiles - VS to follow?

Starting January 2015 Delta have announced miles will be based on ticket price not distance flown:

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/ ... .html#earn

Further review here:

http://thepointsguy.com/2014/02/delta-c ... uary-2015/

Will VS follow??

I really hope not!

[mitchja]

That's a really bad move n(

If VS go down that route - that's it for me and VS, time to find a new carrier.

True, although if they also lower the boundaries for their mileage spends then we cannot really complain if it is one of equatable value.

Looking through the literature they appear to be offering "more redemption levels overall, giving members additional options that require fewer miles." So we will have to wait and see how low these new upgrade/redemption levels are..

On the surface of it, it may also allow the bean counters to 'lose' some miles with rounding (downwards that is) ): Cheeky bean counters. ii)

If VS followed suit with this, it would be a bit of a disappointment. However, if they brought their boundaries for upgrades/reward seats down in line with the new amounts, I probably won't complain.. too much :w

The DL programme was already notoriously tough - this will make it extremely unattractive. Bizarre. I really hope VS does not copy.

Well there's a bit of that already in that cheaper fare codes get less TPs and miles, but if they went as far as DL then it really would be the last straw for me. I still think UC generally trumps BA CW, and there's also the clubhouses with the more family tolerant entrance policies. But with the amount of EU flying I'm doing now, BA is starting to look like the more sensible choice.

Their F lounge breakfast buffet ain't bad either!

I think it is a matter of time before most airlines adopt this approach - the money a passenger spends is more relevant than how many miles they fly. In theory (and when FF started in the 80's) the two things probably matched quite well. Now, with so many ways to get miles without even setting foot on a plane the commercial value of a passenger has to be taken into account. They are, after all, a business that lives or dies by profit - not public services.

Who contributes more to the bottom line - someone who flies 5 times on the absolute cheapest fare or someone who flies twice in a full fare ?

I think it is a matter of time before most airlines adopt this approach - the money a passenger spends is more relevant than how many miles they fly. In theory (and when FF started in the 80's) the two things probably matched quite well. Now, with so many ways to get miles without even setting foot on a plane the commercial value of a passenger has to be taken into account. They are, after all, a business that lives or dies by profit - not public services.

Who contributes more to the bottom line - someone who flies 5 times on the absolute cheapest fare or someone who flies twice in a full fare ?

Usually all about the amount of money spent - not sure customer loyalty counts for much

I believe Virgin Australia and Virgin America have similar programs... ie a certain amount of points based on $ spend.