UA's earnings are doing just fine, unless it is falsifying its quarterly reporting. So, I'm not sure that anybody at UA is worried about losing net revenue (not customers, but net revenue) to BE fares and their restrictions.

One can mess around with this all one wants, but it's ultimately geometry. Take care of BE passengers and it comes at the cost of annoying an HVC on a tight connection who can't find space for his bag. There is only so much space in the OH, so it's really a question of who gets it, not whether BE is a great deal.