My speculation is that since most of the shorter segments
are UX (and therefore operated by companies that UA
subcontracts to), that the profit margins for UA are much
smaller on these flights.
I can't see that. Longhauls appear to me to be way less
profitable than short hops. I don't think my numbers are
extreme, and I pay a minimum of 20c a mile on my shorthaul
travels in coach. And I can't see that UA would be ceding
its IAD-BOS and IAD-NYC business to UX if it weren't
cost-effective to do so.
I'm sorry, but now that UDU exist, aren't CR1's becoming
useless?
Not at all. They represent a way for 1K/GS to be upgraded
reliably on elite-heavy and PS routes, at their option
(assuming that they continue to work - my last two CR1s didn't
work, in that UDU was available to the end, and the instruments
weren't returned afterward). They allow family and friends to
be upgraded on other PNRs than the owners'.
When I signed on to Glenn Must Go, this wasn't what I hoped for,
even though I'm not suffering so badly as some of these folks.