After sending a distressed tweet on Twitter that I thought the Admirals Club was crazy for only serving cookies until 3pm on Sundays, I exchanged a few messages with @AdmiralsClub about the club offerings. I replied something to the effect that the recent improvements in inflight service were not reflected in the Admirals Club product and only heavily discounting membership (by giving $70 off – which is upwards of 25% for some membership levels) made me (and some others) decide to join.
I figure I can’t be alone that American’s no alcohol and no food policy must keep some flyers from joining. I know American has missed out on at least two years of revenue from me due to these policies and Josh’s recent post made a number of good points on why a lot of flyers hold off on joining.
However @AdmiralsClub assured me that in customer surveys, most were happy with the status quo. So I thought I would do a survey of our own. Obviously not all Upgrd listeners and readers are AA flyers, but they are seasoned travelers and had great feedback.
Survey Participants
We only received 45 responses, but I think it’s enough to at least indicate a few trends. Obviously take these results for what they are: just me having a chance to rant about the cookies a little more. 😉
First, overwhelmingly the people that took the survey travel a great deal and are prospective customers of the airlines clubs. Over 80% of the respondents are either top tier (75,000 or 100,000+ miles) or mid tier (50,000 miles) at their respective airlines.
Airline affiliation was split between the big four carriers: United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines.
The majority of the people surveyed have access to their airline’s lounge. I was surprised at the large variation in how people access the lounge, and the low paid membership percentage.
| Paid cash for membership | 27.5% |
| Redeemed miles for membership | 10.0% |
| I gain access through elite status on an another alliance airline | 22.5% |
| I gain access through another association (Amex Platinum, etc) | 20.0% |
| Only access lounge with free entry when traveling internationally as an elite | 10.0% |
| Paid F Tickets that allow lounge access | 5.0% |
| No answer | 5.0% |
Services
Next we asked what are the most important features required in a club membership. The overwhelming winners selected by the majority of respondents were:
- Complimentary internet access
- Number of club locations
- Helpfulness of staff with upgrades, rebooking, irregular operations
- Complimentary food (not snacks)
And in a close set of secondary requirements, selected by more than half the respondents:
- Complimentary alcoholic beverages
- Showers
However, when we rephrased the question to ask what you would pay for a-la-carte, the answers changed slightly. Admittedly our a-la-carte pricing was a flat fee of $75 for each feature, which is not a fair comparison as each feature will have a different cost in reality.
Features most requested by the majority of the respondents:
- Complimentary food (not snacks)
- Complimentary internet access
And in a close second with approximately 50% of the users selecting to pay for these items:
- Staff to help with upgrades, rebooking, irregular operations
- Complimentary alcoholic beverages
- Showers
Interestingly with Google’s recent free wifi at 47 airports until early next year, I think wifi access will be less and less of a draw for club membership. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google sponsors free wifi year round at some point in the future.
Pricing
Then we discussed club pricing. The two questions were “what is a fair price for your club now” and “what would you pay if your club had the features you wanted”. I know I would pay much more for a club membership if I could have a small snack and free drink away from the masses. I guess I am spoiled from living in Australia where the Qantas Club provided these features just as Delta, Alaska and Continental continue to do here.
Unfortunately I put the lowest survey value at “$250 or below”. From the looks of the responses, I think a number of people would have liked a $1 Price-is-right choice. So the graph is probably a little skewed to the high side for the “as-is value”. But you can see the difference, where the current status quo is heavily stacked towards under $250, while the survey participants clearly indicated their willingness to pay more for a club that provides more. Hell, I know I would.
Anyway, @AdmiralsClub, I probably can’t convince you to join Delta, Continental, and even lowly US Airways in offering free alcohol and more substantial snacks, but perhaps I can convince you to fire your survey company and use the money saved to implement some new features. I know if there isn’t a $70 coupon next year, I won’t be renewing.
