Originally Posted by shuttle_boy
Originally it appeared the EI couldn't decide whether it was a LCC or Legacy airline and was adopting a mixed strategy (Low fares, way better), much like U is now. EI management now seems to have resolved the airlines dual personality and is moving it more firmly towards a LCC "no frills" model. The point being that ultimately EI had to decide what kind of airline it wanted to be. U still seems to be grappling with these issues and believes that it can be a hybrid Legacy/LCC airline.
I agree with everything you say. US seems to me like it wants to be all things to all passengers, with LCC fares but legacy service. The trouble is I don't know how they can make money doing that.
EI is only dropping business class on short haul routes, (typically business class in Europe gives you the same size seat with better service, so this is not a huge loss IMHO).
Thanks for clarifying. I wasn't sure which "business class" EI was dropping. We've heard First class is staying on US, but I believe this is something that needs to be investigated. Reducing the size of the F cabin, or converting to 5-across seats for F need to be looked at.
Can the LCC model be applied to transatlantic/Long haul service. Ryanair has threatened to do it, (and I believe that later model 737's theoretically have the range), but for practical and regulatory purposes I imagine this is a non starter. It will be interesting to see what kind of transatlantic operation EI runs outside of OneWorld, especially since EI premier class is overdue for a rethink.
Price discrimination lives on in the long haul market. If anything, most legacy carriers have been upgrading thier international services (flat beds) and adding additional classes of service (premium economy, WT+) bucking the LCC short haul trend.
US might turn into a trans-atlantic LCC by virtue of having some of the lowest paid employees thanks to bankruptcy. They also should look at the cabin configurations on their A333s and 762s, as to whether 42 and 24 Envoy seats are justified, perhaps replacing some of the Envoy seats with a premium economy product.