Originally Posted by
gkbiiii
I was considering spending the $2,000+ (special offer) for C to Europe, however I am really happy with PE. For an eight hour flight, it works well and I enjoy the experience. For longer flights like, South America, Asia, India; I would buy discounted C and upgrade to F for the space.
Thats the great thing about PE, no lux tax out of LHR!! The tax only applies to C and above. I forgot to mention that.
I assume by 'Luxury Tax' you are referring to Air Passenger Duty which is considerably higher for Front End passengers as opposed to those in Economy?
In which case you are incorrect - PE on VS, as well as WTP on BA, incur the same APD as Business and First.
Economy Plus on UA doesn't as it is, as has been noted above, an Economy product - also compounding the fact that the original comparison is unfair.
Originally Posted by
gkbiiii
Look, I understand where you are coming from, however is it not a good idea for United to have products people want to pay for. Why should a Y or B international passenger get the same product as Q, K etc. How is this fair and why should someone pay thousands more to get about reasonable service? I think the point raised about United enhancing F and making a PE class to replace C is a good idea. I would say, a larger Virgin model is the way to go. As well, I think UA should consider the Virgin lounge as it's example for a new F international lounge.
Virgin's model works for Virgin (to a degree but not as well as their PR machine would have you believe) - it would not work for UA.
Similar point re the lounge - great for VS as it fits with it's image however I suspect it would be very difficult to replicate on a network of the current UA's scale, let alone what it will be post merger.
Yes, a lot of people love the VS Clubhouse lounge but a lot of people I talk to find it superficial, offering a lot of amenities that are not necessary.