Originally Posted by
mgcsinc
Upthread, or in another thread, there was some discussion that I'd like to re-open. People make a lot of cheap corporate Y fares, TOD's, etc., but posts like this about enormous lists -- and there are many such posts -- suggest that part of the problem is good old fashioned swelling of the elite ranks.
I think there's a colorable argument that the merger has permitted people to concentrate more of their travel on UA, and that's part of why people are feeling so much pain in terms of CPU's.
Not just a colorable argument, but I am sure reality. UA projected $800M/yr in revenue synergies from folks keeping their travel on UA (mostly CO folks who got their network filled out flying UA, rather than DL/NW/AS) and I have no doubt they saw them.
So why is revenue performance so bad? UA trails everyone in yield/PRASM growth? Only explanation I can give is that while the number of folks able to hit an upgrade list (silver...) swelled, many folks who were GS/iK and spend lots of money have fled UA. Those who paid more, or were not captive, and therefore able to move have left. Leaving the IAH/EWR/CLE folks stuck with the "new UA"
