Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
Why isn't the correct attitude "let's improve coach and F for our paying customers, at the expense of the folks who hang out on FT trying to figure out mileage runs so they can get their premium class TATL tickets"? I sort of think it is (which probably doesn't make me all that popular here)- the best way to make your customers loyal (and aren't FF programs supposed to be "loyalty" programs?) isn't to give them an occasional chance to fly with someone else who does the job better than you do; it's to do the job better so they want to fly with you.
Although you are right that UA should improve their service (along with the rest of the legacies), at the end of the day real FFers like me (who don't do MRs) who fly a lot value the award structure of the legacies more than somewhat better service with less leg room. Some will disagree, but international travel in premium cabins is a huge driver of FF decisions.