Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
On the contrary, I would argue it has everything to do with why AS decided to junk the pmVX F product (because frankly your complaints are more about the pm VX F product being axed, not some vague "quality" problem).
Not true. If they had a quality product I would not complain that it's different. The problem is not that it's different, is that it's bad.
Not enough people are willing to pay for a VX-style product for 60-180 minute flights
You make it sound like VX F was flying empty. That's not the case at all. It was generally completely full, or going with 1-2 empty seats, despite no comp upgrades.
compared to having more Y seats/a denser F product (in effect: more Y seats that are upgradeable to F), and that is the meat and potatoes of the AS route network,
And that is really the problem. If everyone who is in F paid for Y, then the product quickly starts to resemble Y. AS certainly isn't going to spend money on a cabin that doesn't bring in extra money. And the people getting the "upgrades" don't complain much, because, well, they were "free". And then someone (like the OP) makes the mistake of actually paying for the product and is appalled at the product that they get relative to the price that they paid.
The problem is that it's a mislabeled product. If they want to be all-economy, like Southwest, that's preferable to offering a fake first class service, and charging the same as the other carriers charge for a real one.