Originally Posted by
Justin026
The extra cost of the 8-12 hours of pampering usually would allow the entire balance of the overseas trip to be upgraded to the highest levels and still come out less costly.
I don't know about "the highest levels" (one can easily spend absurd amounts on hotels and dinning) but your point is still very well taken.
I think this is why we are going to see significant growth in the PE sector and shrinking J cabins, especially as technology continues to reduce (though not eliminate) the need for business travel.
AA & UA'a investments might be paying off for the time being, but as soon as the next recession hits (which is basically guaranteed by the lying orange naked emperor) they are going to be stuck with some very expensive operations. It seems to be that DL's discipline will pay off in the long run--they are not trying to sort of bring back IFC but call it J, they are just focused on offering a very good J product.