Originally Posted by
uastarflyer
The cabins go out full today
An updated design is due (10 year cycle)
New design will pick up features that are current (eg USB C ports) as well as supplier trend for the next decade. Doors are part of it.
The fallacy is either or. No doors or continuing to fly the current product another 8 years still means zero update to the food. They will do the least required on food forever.
So cheer on the continual updates to the hard product (NEXT, new Polaris, new UC spaces) as those are very difficult to remove.
I think I read somewhere that the cost of a door per seat over the lifetime of the cabin, including increased fuel cost and door maintenance, will be under a dollar per flight. I can see that the door will be recognized as a positive and when built in, easier for the customer to universally experience and appreciate than a dollar improvement in F&B. Maybe some such decision making as this is behind it. And doors do not preclude or excuse UA from improving their meals.
My other concern is safety, Does this impact evacuation times? In the really unfortunate outcomes like DL had in Canada where the plane landed upside down, does this add to the complexity of navigating an inverted cabin?