Originally Posted by
Andy Big Bear
3) If UA express is UA in name only, why would they choose to have a more restrictive policy knowing its going to cause confusion with customers?
That's because UX is UA in name only.
UX consists of a bunch of carriers, of which UA does not own (I believe, not even a minority share). Each carrier has their own set of FAA regulations that are submitted to the FAA. The FAA then expects each carrier to adhere to their own regulations and fines the carrier when their own regulations are not followed.
Another example is carry ons. ExpressJet, in an attempt to simplify weight and balance calculations (i.e., in an attempt to get more revenue for cargo), recently made some very customer unfriendly changes: only one personal item can be brought on board per pax, and the second item must be gate checked to the next airport. Whereas, SkyWest and other UX carriers don't have this rule.