Originally Posted by vincom
I beg to clarify... I see two types of "Preimum Carriers" Domestic and International... without any doubt, Continental's International Product for Coach and Business is on par with many airlines, but in regards to some other, quite below. I don't really consider Continental a Preimum International Carrier, but what I do consider them is a preimum domestic carrier. Why? They offer a very good First Class Product, a somewhat decent (used to be better) FFP, and serve an array of destinations that prove to be useful They also still offer more "meal service" ( a term I use casually) than many other carrier... Even thier coach product I feel is a bit better than most US carriers.....
-Vincent
I would agree that CO's coach product is 'on par' with most carriers. That is the problem. If they are on-par, then why should I pay a premium to fly them? A 17" wide seat with 31" pitch on CO is the same as the seat on DL, UA, US, AA, etc.
I do think BF is the best business product from an American carrier...but that is as of right now: what happens if/when DL revamps Business Elite...what does UA have up its sleeve based on the new PS service? How will CO respond to these challenges? If I was an Exec Plat on AA, I could upgrade 4 international r/t per year on any fare with a simple free coupon...but with CO, I either have to cough up thousands of miles and a higher base fare or pay a lower fare and a huge fee and miles. I looked at airliners.net and I don't see a huge difference between the AA business seat and the BF seat - I am sure there is a difference with service and food, but does that justify such a huge premium?