Originally Posted by
narvik
If your assumptions are indeed true, there would be nothing stopping UA/Kirby of throttling back upgrade availability to counter this supposed new 'upgrade usability'.
I fail to see how throttling upgrade availability reduces the amount of upgrades being given.
It only reduces the amount of UG given *before* T-60. The same seats now filled with upgraders will still be empty, and then assigned at the gate to be cleared off the waitlist -- unless the suggestion is the waitlist *will not* be cleared.
Without processing UG prior to the gate, perhaps there will be lower business fare buckets open longer, barring that, how does United sell more seats vs. giving them away as the doors close? Is the theory that folks will splurge on HOD or the like?