So I tried to use my Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWB) Worldperks miles to get from Los Angeles to New Orleans during a very slow week in March. The best scenario had me using alliance partner Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL) because the route was more direct and the flight times human. Unfortunately, the Northwest agents I spoke to could find absolutely no award seats available on any Continental flight for five weeks in either direction and over a weekend, as desired.
Well, let me rephrase that. There was availability, but the only flights Continental permitted award seats on for Northwest folks were at 1:20 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Trying to fly via Northwest or alliance partner Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) took me so far out of my way (Minneapolis!) that I gave up.
The point of frequent flyer awards is to reward passengers who show loyalty to an airline. The point of frequent flyer alliances is to form a united front against stronger competition and, theoretically, give passengers an opportunity to earn and redeem awards across several airlines. In theory, everybody wins.
In reality, the passengers lose, and, I'll argue, the airlines could end up losing too. The restrictions on award travel have become increasingly onerous. The mere idea that an airline would refuse to grant an award seat on a plane that is 90% empty (yes, I checked) is preposterous and is a slap in the face to passengers who have sometimes gone out of their way to show loyalty to an airline.
This is the thanks we get?
And is it good corporate practice? The airlines have a difficult environment as it is. With oil prices at all-time highs, travel having taken a while to pick up following 9/11, and the ever-present threat of another terrorist attack, these airlines seem to be biting the hands that feed them. It is certainly fair to suggest that the airlines need to gobble up every dollar they can to stave off the ever-present threat of bankruptcy. However, there is such a thing as being penny-wise and pound-foolish. They may save a buck by trying to sell an extra seat instead of give it away, but they may just lose even more revenue by angering the only people who can keep them alive.
Fool contributor Lawrence Meyers does not own shares in any stocks mentioned and is a member of Northwest Worldperks -- but not for much longer.
