Originally Posted by SEA_Tigger
Those leather seats will earn their keep every flight now, not just once in a while. And that should mean AS stays not only afloat, but possibly independent, which will allow them to continue such a broad codeshare and partner award program, without having to join OneWorld to try and stay in business by "capturing" O&D traffic from OneWorld partners. And as revenues flow in from premium cabin travel, AS can turn around and start spending more on inflight food and services (things like the DigiPlayer) and expanding the cabin to allow more upgrade chances (as enough people pay for the service that they can afford to keep upgrades around as carrots for, instead of a one-shot "extortion fare", a continuous stream of mid-tier Economy fares).
The leather seats will not "earn their keep every flight". The switch to leather seats is a very minor change in terms of the financial outlook for the company. Switching to leather seats does not mean AS "stays not only afloat" - leather seats won't miraculously win over passengers. At the same time, I doubt these supposed revenues flowing in from premium cabin travel. Elites are still being upgraded, the cabin itself is still subpar, chances are there has been no increase in F class purchases.
The spin here is that the increase in six seats per 734 adds the equivalent of two planes. That's true and all, but Alaska can't combine all these additional seats and fly them on separate flights. Capacity increases, but frequency/routes served does not. Again, overall, it's a very minor change. Is it worth it? Who knows...
But what do I know... apparently I don't fly AS (although I wonder how that's relevant to the subject at hand).