Originally Posted by
fly18725
Competing on FlyerTalk = offering a world class premium product that one can always upgrade into from a discounted Y seat.
Competing in real life = offering a competitive product that people will pay for while still enabling a financially viable upgrade model.
Agreed, and UA will be competing with BA in terms of hard product with this layout. Having just flown the BA product on an A380, I can tell you I'll take the AA 777W product hands down. The BA seat is narrow (20"), cramped, not at all private, and if you have an aisle seat meal trays are passed over you to be handed to the passenger (through the slide up separator) in the middle or window seats.
This layout to me isn't new or novel, much like everything UA does, it's just a Johnny come lately, copy of something someone else has had for a long time.
Competing in the real world for paying business class passengers with this layout? Not bloody likely. BA is much maligned for this layout.
Anecdotal story: On that BA flight, my seat mate was a grandmother who lived in London, and flies to LA about twice a year to see the grand kids. So, not a "flyertalk" type, and not what many of us arrogant road warriors would call a savvy flier. Her comment was that it was "awkward" she didn't like facing her seat mate so intimately, she hated having trays passed over her, and she felt cramped (she was a small woman at that). It was the first time she'd flown BA on the route having previously always gone on Virgin. I asked why she didn't this time, and she said BA was $2,000 less, so she thought she'd give it a try. For a savings of $2,000 she said she'd do it again, but if the price differential is less than $1K she'd stick with Virgin.
All that said
bocostephen had is most right with this: "This thread is like screaming for a box of chocolates, and then when we get it, start screaming that it isn't Godiva. We are not Godiva clientele, we are See's clientele, and for that reason, this new product is actually better than we could hope for."
For United's clientele this layout will probably do just fine, just as DL's cramped J product gets rave reviews here on flyertalk as well (why, I have no idea).
So there you have it, UA will compete with BA and other mass market See's chocolate clientele carriers in the price leader discount business class market.
