Originally Posted by ocdb8r

Equally nonsense. The relationship is 100% symbiotic. The business travellers don't get routes unless there are leisure travellers filling the planes and the leisure travellers don't get low fares unless there are business travellers paying high fares. Upgrades do require subsidizing (not necessarily from baggage fees) - if you think AA fits their planes with 16 in F because that's what they think they can reasonably sell on an average basis, you're delusional. They certainly do keep the F cabin large enough to ensure some measure of upgrades occur for their most frequent travelers. That extra space and service comes at a cost that is made up somewhere else (which includes both business and leisure travellers). Finally, please point to any data that backs up your assertion that 1) EXPs are "generally business travelers" and 2) that they fly "on higher fares". The '80's are over. You can't afford to fly planes half full with current fuel and labor costs and corporations are freewheeling with their travel budgets anymore.