Originally Posted by
UA-NYC
I doubt that most consumers are doing ratio calculations at the point of purchase. It's the absolute $ amount that matters.
You don't think that a customer who would pay $500-900 for Y->C on a long-haul international flight would balk at that price fora 2 hour domestic segment? It is all about the ratio.
Originally Posted by
UA-NYC
Market the product all you want, no issues with that - just try and keep it premium / aspirational / quality (befitting of the largest carrier in the world), and not bargain-bin style that this offer (and a lot of the old CO billboards) feels/felt like.
The airline is in it to make money, not make the elite who got the upgrade feel better about the seat they're getting that someone else might pay $99 more to get in to. If they really wanted to keep it premium and aspirational then getting rid of elite upgrades would be the first step IMO.