Originally Posted by
MAH4546
No, it does not prove your statement by pointing to one out of the ordinary situation.
54% of all traffic between the United States and Bogota originates in Miami in the first place, so most people aren't going to use another airline except Avianca and LAN.
If AA offered an "easy upgrade" policy they would lose on a significant amount of paid J seats on the route, becuase AA sees significant paid J on the route. If AA did not see significant paid J demand on northern South American markets, some of which - like Maracaibo - have over 70% local traffic, then AA would go to an easier upgrade policy because it would not adversely effect revenue.
One thing AA has been historically very good about is yield management. They also were never one size fits all when it came to international routes. When they first started flying to Europe they were spending significantly more in catering on routes to France and Belgium than London and Germany as they believed the local markets in France and Belgium placed a higher value in catering than US and other European consumers.