Briitsh Airways moved to a revenue-based elite program that wasn’t about redistributing who got status – it was a genuine cut in status. My understanding is it was about bad internal incentives – what the loyalty program was being charged for benefits through internal accounting – more than marketing strategy. Customers almost immediately began looking for the exits . But London Heathrow-based customers see themselves as captive, even though BA status doesn’t really offer meaningful benefits beyond oneworld status making crediting travel to a partner often the better deal. For instance, a domestic and short haul Europe flyer probably is best off with Royal Jordanian status (with oneworld sapphire unlocking seating, baggage and lounge benefits after just 30 flight segments) and premium flyers often best off with Finnair. As BA was about to downgrade the status of customers en masse it looked like they might have had a change of heart, telling many elites that they had kept their status for another year.…