Originally Posted by
iahphx
But I think I'm somewhat unusual. I think most people shopping for flights "need" to travel on specific itineraries more than I do, and when faced with this choice will buy the BE fare. In other words, the upsell won't work: there's just not enough value in paying $80 to avoid BE. Logic tells me the upsell should be less. At $10, almost everyone buys. At $15, most do. At $20, at least half. But I bet by the time you get to $40, most either keep shopping or buy BE. I guess this is what UA is going to have to figure out. And, heck, maybe I'm not a good judge of airline consumer buying habits.
There's a psychological component to the whole thing that's a little weird for me. Some of the regular G fares actually seem quite good, but I'm put off by seeing BE for $40 less. I'd be more likely to purchase if they didn't offer BE as a comparison point.
This is especially the case on the fares where they're trying to match the ULCCs. I will absolutely pay UA $40 more than the NK/G4/F9 fare, because I will never fly those airlines absent some very unusual circumstance. I never even consider what their fare is; in fact, I frequently will exclude them from searches entirely. But it feels different to pay UA $40 more than its own fare.
It's also strange on a percentage basis. I'd think $40 would be less noticeable on a $600 fare than a $60 fare -- some people's travel policies aside. But apparently UA has reached the opposite conclusion.