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Welcome to our PPS Club - but only if you're in Business or First Class

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  • Welcome to our PPS Club - but only if you're in Business or First Class

    Okay.. everyone knows about this... and in SQ's eyes (and mind).. that if you can only afford to fly economy, you're a no body and people laugh at you.

    Why is it so hard for SQ management (old cronies) to accept that there are some affluent people that do fly economy?

    Let me share a story with you...

    About 15 years ago, when I was working in a TA in Canada, our of my corporate clients had extensive travel between YVR/YYZ and PER via SIN. There would be at least 2-3 people travelling between the two cities every week. YVR-PER, SYD, MEL.. but their travel budget only permitted economy class travel. We're not even talking 'special fares' - we just issued Y class tickets and those were easily something like C$3K round trip.

    Then the President of the company had to go to Dubai on a whim while he was in Perth. The only flights only had F class available, so I booked him as such. SQ made errors to the booking, cancelled his hotel and blamed me for it. Anyway, it was resolved.. and he was on his way back to Singapore when I asked the sales rep in the to send a telex to Singapore to have someone at SQ meet this guy and take him to the lounge for a shower before his flight home. He is travelling in F to SIN but he is in coach to YVR.

    Guess what they said?

    Absolutely not. He must travel in Business or First before he can use the lounge. They will not listen to the fact that he is in F class arriving into Singapore.

    So I explained to the secretary who then explained to the company president about SQ's decisions. SQ in Singapore, had the cheek to tell me , in hindsight , that if he was any sort of President in any firm, surely he can afford to fly Business Class?

    ==============================
    One month later, this same guy was to make another trip to Singapore. He just said that he didn't want to take SQ. So I put him on CX. But I called the Sales Dept at CX to explain what had happened to this guy just a month before so that nothing weird would surprise him.

    Guess what CX did? They gave the Company corporate Marco Polo Club passes (Green).. which gave them Lounge Access (ok, it was KaiTak days..but hey, a lounge is a lounge). And when the President flew out on his first trip, CX upgraded him to J all the way through and back.

    After Mr Pres returned to Canada, he sent out a directive. And cc'd a copy to me, CX and SQ. I actually didn't know how large his company was until I read the memo.

    He gave instructions that whenever it is business or paid vacation travel, under no circumstance is travel to be on Singapore Airlines. Preferred travel from YYZ and YVR office is to be on CX.

    The memo went out to 4500 office locations worldwide emcompassing over 25000 employees with a combined monthly travel budget of over $5 million a month ! Turns out they sell hospital equipment and train technicians worldwide.

    You should have seen the SQ sales team trying to kiss and make up then.. but it was too late.

    I guess SQ still has not learnt that lesson.



    PS- please accpt all forms of grammatical errors , typos and what have you's... it's 730 am and I haven't slept a wink all night - the effects of drinking 2 cups of strong KOPI-O in the afternoon !!
    Last edited by Guy Betsy; 16 March 2007, 07:57 AM.

  • #2
    Hey GuyBetsy, I remembered reading this very post when I first joined FT.

    So so sad how SQ 'values' her SQTalker type PPS pax.

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    • #3
      The decision to award perks based on premium class travel has always been a strategic choice for SQ. This choice means SQ has had to deal with the ramifications of the exceptions like the one in Guy Betsy's story. The test of the business decision is the extent to which these exceptions have a significant impact on profits. My guess is that up to now, the impact has been relatively minor.

      Whether the impact of the recently announced changes to the PPS Club is marginal is an altogether different story.
      ‘Lean into the sharp points’

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      • #4
        Time will tell ...

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Guy Betsy View Post
          You should have seen the SQ sales team trying to kiss and make up then.. but it was too late.

          I guess SQ still has not learnt that lesson.
          SQ is merely a microcosm of the SG gummint, and the gummint hasn't found any lessons worth 'learning' either.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
            The decision to award perks based on premium class travel has always been a strategic choice for SQ. This choice means SQ has had to deal with the ramifications of the exceptions like the one in Guy Betsy's story. The test of the business decision is the extent to which these exceptions have a significant impact on profits. My guess is that up to now, the impact has been relatively minor.

            Whether the impact of the recently announced changes to the PPS Club is marginal is an altogether different story.
            jjpb3.... time has changed, hasn't it?
            15 yr ago, there were not budget carrier.... now it's totally a different story.
            They should take the time to think about it.
            There's only One way to fly.... SINGAPORE AIRLINES!
            If SQ is too expensive, the other way to fly is Qatar Airways

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            • #7
              The more I think this over I feel that I'm not that sad for going to loose my PPS. I will do a requalification run to keep my SK *G current and thats that taken care off. The more I think it over I figure that I probably would be very close to be able to retain PPS, but I can't for one simple reason:

              One of my main clients is a group of oil companies. They know I'm a small consultancy, but very good at what I do. They also know that I've got my current PPS by my way of being an airline geek and doing my wierd RTW-tickets and think it's smarts in getting my PPS that way, as only a very few of the higher ups have PPS, even with extended travel in the area fromt he gulf and down to Singa and back up to Europe.

              I'm sure the news of the restructuring of PPS will tirckle down there as well, and I cannot noe be seen with a PPS card fro this fall onwards, as it basically screams "I spend a lot of money" to the people that sign my bills. Simple as that, it would send the entire wrong signals the lower end staff I also work with being stuck in Y.

              That is the biggest problem with turning PPS into a pure cash counting proposition.

              -A

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              • #8
                Maybe it was because of all the different low cost carriers that have sprung up that makes SQ management realizes that the airline should be even more exclusive than ever. You know there are a lot of people out there with lots of "pots of gold" who still get a kick out of buying something for status recognition.

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