Originally Posted by
porciuscato
That's based on the fallacy, which I see repeated throughout this thread--that people on low fares represent a "loss" for United. The reality is they fill seats that would otherwise be empty. As long as the marginal revenue for that seat exceeds the marginal cost (i.e. the fuel cost for an extra 180lbs, the cost of printing the ticket, serving the extra soft drink, etc.), it makes sense to sell him that seat. And I'm pretty certain United always prices seats above marginal cost.
When this guy takes his $1059 elsewhere, that will be $1059 of incremental revenue that United doesn't have.
That's one way to look at it but not necessarily the only way. If this $1059 revenue flyer reserves an E+ seat, that's potentially one less E+ seat that a $20K flyer won't be able to choose and, maybe, decides to take DL for that trip. Which would UA rather have taking that flight?