Originally Posted by
florin
What may work and may even end up happening eventually is a decent Y+ product, with much better seats and no additional biz benefits such as lounge access and excess luggage, priced reasonably enough to get people to buy it.
This is exactly what British Airways, Air France, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, and others provide with their Premium Economy products, which have no analogue among the US-based carriers.
Remember that business class was born decades ago as a way to give business travelers a little something extra for their money when they were proscribed from booking into first class. It was meant to be a sort of super-coach. Fast forward 30+ years and business class is now more opulent and comfortable than the old F cabins ever were -- standards in premium cabins have crept up steadily -- so these Premium Economy products are sort of throwbacks to the original mission of business class.