AS seems to imply that a reasonable number of those customers were in F by virtue of the companion pass, but that benefit was yanked.

It is also cheaper, so that explains the lower quality seat. You get what you paid for right?!

Lastly, it is NYC, higher # of people there are flush with cash as opposed to your average American city (including SEA). Same with WAS, SFO (SFO is not called the "land of GS" in the UA forum for no reason), and LAX.