If I recall correctly something stupid high like 80% of their revenue from flights is from frequent travelers. These travelers are generally loyal to an airline because of the benefits from sticking with a network. I spent a year buying regular coach tickets and being upgraded to 1st class on all but 2 flights out of around 150 when I was traveling (I hit the top tier on the frequent traveler program)
The thing that this dumbass CEO is missing, is that these flyers are still on a budget and there is still some competition. The whales will swim away if you attempt to screw them over. This is why airlines have status matching programs for frequent travelers.
If I recall correctly something stupid high like 80% of their revenue from flights is from frequent travelers. These travelers are generally loyal to an airline because of the benefits from sticking with a network. I spent a year buying regular coach tickets and being upgraded to 1st class on all but 2 flights out of around 150 when I was traveling (I hit the top tier on the frequent traveler program)
The thing that this dumbass CEO is missing, is that these flyers are still on a budget and there is still some competition. The whales will swim away if you attempt to screw them over. This is why airlines have status matching programs for frequent travelers.