Originally Posted by
Say Vandelay
The amount of negative hurdles you have to click through to actually book a BE fare ("Yes, I certify I probably do not want to sit with my family") and their low "discount" indicates to me that they are just a hook to get people to UA.com from Google Flights, Hopper, etc. where customers then choose a normal fare for a nominal fee. And to keep up with Delta in the race to the bottom.
Look at the rates of growth in RPMs over the last decade of JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, Allegiant and Frontier as a group vs. AA/UA/DL. Low fare carriers can't be ignored. Deride it all you want - DL starting making the effort with basic economy fares five years before UA did.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyl...at-assignment/