Originally Posted by
dilanesp
There are luxury products out there marketed by state subsidized airlines.
But the reason none of the Big 3 offer that sort of soft product anymore is because not enough travelers will put up the cash to pay for it. Except in a handful of markets (ex-LHR to major US cities, for instance), international business class fares have not gone up and have sometimes gone down, and not enough people were paying for First so they got rid of it entirely. Plus, plenty of people are flying in those cabins using FF miles or instruments.
Removing competition by allowing the big 6 to become the BIG 3 is a huge part of the problem. Now travelers are much more limited in options. My cost out of DEN has skyrocketed, service is reduced, rarely a meal, and when there is, its minimal compared to pre merger. More people were upgraded in the past compared to now, where it's easy to pay to upgrade. I would argue good old fashioned upgrades are down and that majority sitting up front have paid for it either at purchase, or prior to boarding. The removal of seeing the upgrade list prior to people checking in isn't a glitch, it's by design IMO. Next will be complete removal of expert mode... I'm guilty of paying the upcharge a number of times this year, which makes me a paid first class flyer, not an upgrade passenger. So we went from lower airfare, much better service, a much higher degree of options to get from A to B domestically, to fewer options, lowered service, and higher airfare.
International is a different story, I think things have moved in a positive direction. Polaris lounges are very nice, and despite the complaints, the current seats in Business, beit new Polaris or the rest of the fleet isn't bad compared to Barca lounge seats. That said, one trip a year International for me isn't my priority, its the other 138 flights I will have completed domestically this year, and in that regard things stink, in both coach and first.