Originally Posted by
seanthepilot
This is the same issue that came up in the Air Canada forum as the Lie Flat beds took years longer than initially planned. Lots of valid complaints, as many from upgraders who didn't have any other choice as from business flyers that did.
AC lost the paid business travellers, and kept the upgraders. UA should expect the same. Those with cash will not fly the old product. UA will struggle until the refit is complete. It's a double edged sword.
One day, it will be all finished and some of those paid C customers will come back. Of course, the wait is long... but it'll be nice one day... 2013?
No, most likely incorrect. UA has now been flying 747 and 767 with reconfigured IPTE. They have had an ample time to monitor load uptick in planes/flights with the new config, and ample marketing to ensure with some degree of certainty that the paying business market knows about the new cabin. Clearly, they are not seeing enough of an uptick in paying business that they can coorelate to the availability of the new cabin v. the old. So they are in a hold pattern and conserve cash. In this economy, it doesn't matter what business or cabin- if your company stopped approving C class fares then the fact a new cabin exists is moot. This is what UA's data is saying. It doesn't matter if we spend millions on a new cabin, right now it will not generate any new paying C class pax- or at least not enough new c pax. So they wait...