Originally Posted by
Erohnson
With a downturn in the economy this might not be such a bad idea after all...
Not to mention, if there is a downturn in the economy all those people who are currently feeling flush enough to buy discount J are not going to suddenly switch to Basic Economy overnight, but they might start settling for PE. Which is exactly what's being added to planes...
I mean, I love an upgrade as much as anyone on these boards, but the business model has moved from outfitting planes with a number of J seats that is near the maximum J demand and then filling the empty seats with upgraders, to outfitting planes much closer to average J demand and pushing people to pay for their desired class of service. Whether you like it or not, Doug Parker's people understand Newsvendor models.