Originally Posted by
CPRich
The shortest flight I could find in a quick search is about 29 hours. There are many other options at 21-23 hours. A US flight is also 3,000+ miles longer. The longer flight results in higher costs, so a higher price given the same target margin, plus an extra 6-8 hours flying time. I don't see a market for that type of a ticket. I suspect that all that competition didn't exist 10+ years ago.
Thai, Singapore, Emirates, Cathay - why would I pay more and travel longer on the product offered by a US airline vs. these.
But that's my point. More convenient connections with Thai, Singapore, Emirates, and Cathay did exist a decade ago, and they already had a more attractive product then. And UA's timetable was less convenient 10 years ago as well. Hardy anybody (outside of this forum anyway) would pay more, so why charge more (unless, as
belfordrocks suggests, US airlines are confident about being able to fill the seats with point-to-point traffic for each segment).