On a recent flight from Denver to Las Vegas, Michael Silber was assigned a dreaded middle seat in the back of the plane. But when Silber, an executive with the Harman Consumer Group, an electronics company in Woodbury, N.Y., checked in at the ticket counter, a United Airlines employee not only upgraded him on the spot but apologized for the lapse.
“You should have never gotten that seat in the first place,” the agent whispered to him to avoid being overheard by other passengers. “You’re Global Services.”
His membership, she added, “means we like you a lot.”
That may be something of an understatement. As the airline industry struggles to recover from losses totaling $32.3 billion during the past four years, it is pursuing its biggest spenders with a rare enthusiasm.
Global Services, which was quietly introduced in 2003, is perhaps the largest of the new super-elite frequent-flier programs that airlines reserve for the créme de la créme of their clientele.
Regrets for uncomfortable middle seats are the least of the benefits.
On United and on other airlines, members of the secretive, invitation-only clubs are met at the airport by employees and whisked past the check-in line. They wait for their flights in unmarked VIP lounges and are offered liberal upgrades and personalized attention by airline employees. And at a time when airlines are obsessed with improving their on-time records, it is not uncommon for a plane to be held for a super-elite member who is stuck in traffic.
“Super-elites are the Skull and Bones of the sky,” said frequent-flier expert Joel Widzer, referring to the secret society at Yale. “Don’t bother asking how to join. If you qualify, they’ll let you know.”
Becoming a member of this beyond-platinum club is “the most coveted award” for the frequent traveler, according to Hal Brierley, a loyalty-program consultant with Brierley & Partners in Dallas. He estimates that fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of elite-level fliers hold super-elite status. But because the clubs are shrouded in such mystery (none of the airlines contacted for this article would comment on them), the actual figures remain a puzzle.
“Sometimes, even program members don’t know they’re in it,” Brierley said.
American Airlines, the largest domestic carrier, claims it does not have a beyond-platinum designation. But according to consultants and loyalty-program experts, it informally tags selected elite-level passengers for special treatment. Continental Airlines offers Chairman’s Circle status to a group of just 21 executives from companies whose business is considered important to the airline.