Originally Posted by
FlyBitcoin
DL is telling you that a (middle) C+ seat is worth $10 less than a regular main seat 4-5 weeks out during shoulder season on a leisure route... Ooh "value"!
Or look at it as a steep $60 upgrade over main basic for the "basic" customer... Ooh "rip-off"!
I mean - I do think there is a legitimate market for this when it is priced below main cabin for non-statused customers. Especially those who might be a bit taller. I know I will break Flyertalk's brain here but all else being equal (full plane) I prefer a middle seat with 34" of pitch than a window seat (especially in a 737). 30-31" aisle vs. 34" C+ can be a bit of a tougher call since you can angle your legs out into the aisle a bit.
I don't drink much on planes, but C+ comes with free drinks. You still get early boarding so your carry-on will probably not get gate checked. You still get MQDs. You still get some revenue miles. You still get lounge access if you have a card. If you know your travel plans won't change, losing free changes isn't a big deal.
Now, as soon as Basic Comfort costs more than Main Cabin then it becomes a tougher sell. But at the price point positioned so far, I do see people buying it.
Basic travelers, due to the inflexibility of the ticket, are not booking as far in advance as DM's and PM's who get the comp upgrades either, so not sure that matters much.
Not sure the data would prove that out. Basic Economy tickets are likely, on average, booked out further in advance than a main cabin ticket. For PM and DMs you'll likely find a bimodal distribution (leisure travel booked relatively far in advance, most business travel booked close in). Still, classic revenue management practice assumes that unrestricted tickets are sold closer in than restricted tickets, although I cannot find any industry literature that supports that in the modern Basic Economy world.
Still would be crazy in some situations to see a C+ seat map with 7 seats open including some windows and aisles, with 6 C+ basic secretly sold in the background, only to have the entire map get "X"ed out when the 7th C+ basic seat is sold. But I think DL will limit the number of basic C+ seats sold in advance to prevent high-school or small college basketball teams from booking up 12-18 seats for less than the cost of main.
I do think this will be a point of annoyance for PM/DMs. You'll have to verify that C+ is actually available for sale rather than checking the seat map (technically you've always had to do this since a booking doesn't have to have a seat reservation, but it is so exceptionally rare that usually an open seat on the seat map = an upgrade).