Originally Posted by Spiff
When an airline
chooses to give its premium seats to passengers, it is to build loyalty, which brings in more revenue. That results in a positive cash flow situation. Just because a seat is
sometimes used as an incentive instead of sold, is no excuse to steal it.
Should the government be allowed to steal seats at sports events because they don't all sell out? Should it be allowed to steal food from grocery stores because sometimes there is a 2 for 1 sale? Should all assets that are not sold be subject to confiscation? Got any extra space in your home, Citizen?
Instead of feeble attempts to dispense personal insults, you might try thinking some of these things through before blathering on about how people you've never met supposedly view themselves.
The airlines did
choose to lobby for and enact the ATSA, including the provisions for the FAM program. I don't care what Leo and the other gasbags said in front of a congressional sub-committee. Any statement that Fams are the cause of any lost revenue is a pathetic attempt to divert attention away from a failed business plan that is based on the smoke & mirrors economy of the 90's.
I have not personally seen the numbers, but I have been told by several people in the airline industry that the percentage of full-fare seats sold in FC is now between 18-20%. Take that for what it's worth, but you can be certain that the solid majoity of passengers in FC are upgrades and non-rev airline employees.
The airline industry was headed for the sh&tter before 9/11. There were simply too many planes, not enough passengers, and their labor costs were out of control, period. The G should never have bailed them out to the extent they did. We should have let United or USAir go tits up like in any other industry. Mi dos cevtavos.