Originally Posted by
CollegeFlyer
F
There's no reason to think that UA "doesn't mind." They matched the promos because they had to do so to be competitive--doh! If UA didn't mind running DEQM promos at all, they would run them all the time themselves, for free, without having to be forced to match a competitor's promo. But UA didn't run a DEQM promo at all in 2007, even for the very high fees that UA charged on the promotion in 2005 and 2006.
Nicely reasoned approach, but as you'll learn when you graduate from law school and enter the real world, the longest brief isn't always the winner. Rather you need compelling facts.
In this case, you have no more facts than I do, because UA does not disclose what any of these wonderful perks cost. Even the best 1k perks (SWUs) do not cost UA anything as it has now largely restricted them to flights where the seats are unsold. I'd like to think my assumptions make more sense than yours but I can't prove it any more than you can. I do know that UA has offered DEQM so many times that the logical assumption is that it costs little and generates much. Otherwise it would not make financial sense to continue doing it.
As for the increase in the DEQM fees, that is not a reflection of UAs costs (as you assume) but rather a matter of revenue enhancement. AA has raised its fees for buying back status every year with no discernable increase in benefits. Pure profit.