Originally Posted by
lowfareair
Fully agreed, it seems like they are treating MCE as "only where there would be extra legroom anyway" on their long haul planes and that feels like a mistake. Only thing I can think is that execs felt it was cannibalizing premium economy. Yes, a lot of the seats are assigned for free by elites, but that is literally a huge reason I spend additional money every year to maintain status - upgrades are fairly nonexistent, but at least I can get 3 extra inches of legroom on almost every flight.
It's true domestic as well, and particularly applicable for last minute, high-priced bookings where F is already sold out or priced insanely high. If I'm buying a walk-up economy fare, and the choice is AA vs. UA, I'm going to pick UA based on the much larger number of extra-legroom seats (which means that I can either pick one right now, or at least have a much better shot at snagging one prior to departure).