Originally Posted by
Finkface
I fear this is the beginning of a slippery slope - selling status as other airlines do.
They already do - it's usually called paid F. On AS it even includes club access, which other airlines don't offer for regular F, just the premium routes that cost big $.
AS pricing for paid F is often out of whack with respect to OAL, so it leaves those seats empty and available for upgrades, but they could price it more competitively and both monetize the seats and swell the ranks of "elites" more rapidly due to the COS multiplier.