RustyC

I'm often the only one to get to board via the elite status, but ATL isn't the same as DEN, MCO or LAS in terms of having lots of F9 flights everywhere, so there aren't as many elites going to/from. I don't think they'd have a lot of biz travelers, but for a city with more flights like DEN, if the company is cheap and inflexible enough, then they might do it. OTOH, on many routes they don't even have 1x daily frequency (which isn't as good for biz travelers), tickets can't be endorsed to other airlines, and charging for carry-ons goes a bit too far as far as biz travel requirements might go (as in that "Up In the Air" movie, you might be seen as not the most practiced business traveler if you check bags, but saying you have to pay for either a checked bag or a carry-on goes a bit too far vs. reasonable biz travel requirements).

I agree with lidosjawn in that the status has USEFUL perks that take the worst edges off, with the carry-on being a biggie. Not only that, but if you fly the legacies you quickly learn that the bin situation on so many has gotten so bad that if you're in a later zone they're likely to MAKE you check the carry-on. You're much less likely to run into that on F9 (because they charge people and the checked bag is cheaper than the carry-on, anyway).

With F9 and NK there's also the bit of cruel irony in that because they cater to price-sensitive travelers, the percentages of pax who could qualify for their credit card - let alone charge enough on it for status - are likely lower than for the legacies.