Question for UA:

Forget for a moment about the potential of lost business due to flyers who now find other airlines more attractive after this service devaluation.

Has UA calculated the volume of call time to the Premier and ordinary reserations desks which the "Fare Class" function eliminated to date?

Has UA considered how much additional employee phone time it will take for your members, especially Premier members, to obtain the fare class information which UA customers now access at no cost to the airline.

Has UA considered the financial cost of having to devote much more reservation-agent phone time to finding what's available for upgrades, awards and W class?

Is UA aware that a great number of UA customers simply search what the want, specifically inputting flights which do not show up in the regular award or paid tix search, and then do the upgrade or award purchase online (or at worst, calling up and providing the exact itinerary request, which takes much less time)?

I think this will be a major boondoggle for UA.

I didn't even mention the issue of being forced to increase res desk staff, which is expensive, or increase phone wait times, which drives business away.