In addition to shamelessly borrowing a Springsteen line, the title of this post comes from the fact that we might have had some success in temporarily restoring CR1s, but UA management could still make that success nearly meaningless by restricting CR1 availability and/or expanding purchased upgrade opportunities.

More specifically, it's all well and good that 2011 will see the continuation of pre-75K CR1s. But the key here is not the UA policy but how it's implemented. If NC and NF availability is severely constrained for domestic flights, the policy becomes irrelevant. If buy-up opportunities preclude use of CR1s, the result is the same.

The advantages of UA taking this approach seem obvious. It doesn't offer a distinct policy/target for criticism, but rather the less structured but no less deliberate restriction of CR1 use. It might well trigger grumbling among FTers and other customers as the reality sinks in, but perhaps not the same outcry as an explicit policy. And it would be consistent with what the airline has done with SWUs at times and might yet do more of in the future--provide them, but make them tough to use.

So a very small pat on our collective back for getting UA to back down and a very small round of applause for UA for doing so. But the proof will be in the pudding of actual ability to use CR1s.