Originally Posted by
njcommodore
This sums up my biz travel, and I don't think I'm alone.
No, you're not. A key factor that has kept me loyal to CO over the years has been the elite YBM-UP benefit (originally just Y-UP). Particularly at the troughs of the economic cycles when my employers suspend premium class travel on 5+ hr domestic flights.
Whether CO or UA's strategy is better, I think it's impossible for us, and possibly even the airlines, to know for sure. Theoretically you'd just compare RASMs, but nobody discloses this information publicly for just the premium cabin. Consolidated mainline RASM is affected by too many other factors to provide any meaningful insight into this particular issue.