Originally Posted by
JBord
Well, they're trying to clarify the position on a technicality then. It's not that they're charging for bin space, they're not allowing bin space and then charging you to check that bag instead (or charging more in the ticket price to avoid the problem). Effectively the same result, although the consumer can avoid it by not bringing a bag. So they can argue technicalities, but I believe the data will eventually show that people who buy these fares overwhelmingly checked bags.
I don't really pay attention to Twitter, but I have to think people aren't accepting UA's clarification very easily.
Bottom line, as you've said, is they need some real PR to fix this, not some 22 year old's tweeting responses who don't really understand what's happened. Honestly, they should just drop the no carry-on rule, say they listened to their customers, and the rest of the noise will go away quickly.
The no-carryon rule is one of the big ways UA was planning to leverage BE to improve operational performance - as it is, nobody in Group 5 gets to bring their bag onboard. With BE, UA doesn't have to waste time gate checking, which will help UA close the door earlier on most flights. I appreciate the fact that UA is setting expectations from the start, instead of surprising pax at boarding with an unexpected wait at the baggage claim. And if UA offered a free checked bag to BE customers, it would defeat the purpose of the BE fare.
I think the big mistake is that UA isn't clarifying that
this fare is for limited markets where they're competing with e.g. Spirit. Even if they decide to expand the number of markets later, nobody would remember by then.