Originally Posted by JonNYC
The part confuses me is 90,000 miles for a business class award ticket to Europe. But now, one could easily end up spending 50,000 miles + $500 + $600+ for an economy ticket upgraded. To me-- the non-differentiation between "discount" and "deep discount" fares in assessing this fee is something that will have to be revisited (at least I hope so.)
Perhaps by increasing the 90k award to, say, 130k?
I'm not sure I agree with you about the need to differentiate between deep discount and higher-fare tickets.
The price of those tickets reflects (or is supposed to reflect) how much you are willing to pay to get there. If you plan ahead, generally, you pay much less than if you wait til closer to departure time. Those who book close to departure time can presumably pay more. Price discrimination, pure and simple.
If the upgrade fee is reduced (or waived) for higher economy fares, that reduces the revenue premium that AA is already able to extract from those who don't plan as far ahead.
If anything, AA should probably consider charging several hundred dollars
more to upgrade from higher-economy fares than from deep discount fares, capitalizing on its already-proven abilities to practice successful price discrimination. If you're willing to pay more for your ticket than someone who bought weeks or months ago, maybe you're willing to pay more to upgrade, as well.
