lol. You people . . .
Yes, assuming DL adopts this across the board, it probably does mean that the price of regular Y awards goes up. But do you REALLY think that the price of regular Y awards wouldn't have gone up ANYWAY? At least this provides another option.
I've bought BE fares. I was still able to select preferred seats at the 24 hour mark, and got good exit rows. As a lowly Gold flying out of ATL, I never get upgraded anyhow (and I prefer the exit rows to Plus seats). You still get to use the SkyPriority lanes and boarding. Honestly, I couldn't tell any difference between BE and regular Y.
This is really only an issue for flyers who like to change their minds or otherwise need flexibility. That's not how I (and lots of other people) plan travel.
The overwrought wailing and gnashing of teeth is really kind of amusing to me.
