Originally Posted by
AS Flyer
I don't wish to demean the OP's concern. I know, first hand, how hard it can be sitting in a middle seat on a transcon. It can be very uncomfortable, especially if the persons on either or both sides are of larger stature. I also understand that E+ is a great tool for your frequent flyer program. That said, I have to wonder whether E+ is a money maker for UA or not. UA is probably in the worst financial shape of any domestic U.S. airline. I get that the revenue stream is but one of many, MANY problems at a very poorly run airline but I wonder if UA would be making more money if they ditched the E+ product and added more seats to their Y cabin. I suppose some might say that the only thing keeping UA alive are their loyal travelers but I can't help but wonder whether E+ helps or hurts UA's bottom line. It certainly is great for their frequent flyers, no doubt. There are some folks that will fly UA simply because of that but more and more people choose airlines based on their own bottom line and the convenience of their schedules. Case in point, the OP chose a middle seat on Alaska rather than taking a nonstop on UA to IAD in E+.
1. I didn't think I'd get a middle seat. Long story, but I can't make reservations through the AS site -- I have to go through my corporate site and it's difficult to know exactly what the status of the flight is. I was hopeful there would be F seats available, but no. Also, my corporate site places a needless SSR into my reservations that causes exit row to appear unavailable to me unless I call AS myself.
2. I've been choosing UA much more than AS this year -- I'm at 61K BIS miles on UA, about 18K BIS miles on AS. And that includes lots of travel to MCO where it would be much faster to go AS.
3. I'd argue that the only two things UA is doing really well right now are E+ and the new F/C international cabins (which are far and away the best of any USA carrier). Leaving aside F/C and focusing domestically for a moment, if they got rid of E+, they'd have zero differentiation. I talk to other 1Ks on a regular basis who say that the availability of upgrades and E+ as a fallback is what keeps them coming back.