Originally Posted by
LuizMiranda
U space didn't exist before only because Alaska was nice or was profitable
They've literally lost half of their F seating. U comes from space they don't expect to actually sell as F, but "what we expect to sell" is all ????? because COVID, route and service adjustments, changes in passenger composition (business travel is still pretty dead). The math is pretty simple.
I just came back from a trip where I bought F for less than $300 round trip thanks to various sales/promos that cut the cost for an I fare to what I would usually pay for a coach round trip. The U eligible fare (had U been available)
would have cost me more than what I bought in I. (I checked it on a whim.)
I get your complaint (my guess is you're looking on a route that
doesn't have good I fares available) but "Get big EQM/RDM boosts and pay less than the U fare, by the way, get a minute or three in the Alaska Lounge if you want" seems pretty good to me. But it does seem like there are winners and losers. Winners are people who are willing to give AS some cash money or just take their chances on the upgrade list. Losers are people wanting to use instruments for advance upgrades.
PS: it's pretty easy to find a U eligible fare costing MORE than an I fare across AS's network. So, uh, yay AS's RM? (On the other hand, they seem to be getting towards break-even? Maybe?)
Originally Posted by
be_rettSEA
another option is to use miles to confirm in F..
Er, doesn't that also require U? Or are you suggesting a redemption? Doesn't that require
A? Is A really > U on a lot of routes? It doesn't seem so on the route and date I have selected (warning: very small sample size). They want 40k miles or as low as $159 to sit in F (LOL)...
