Originally Posted by da_guy
Maybe the extra $300 or $400 would be paid by many FTers - well really paid by one's employer/client. But out in the real world, you would be hard pressed to find folks willing to throw away $400 for a more comfortable ride. Maybe for a 15 hr flight to Asia, but for a 4.5 hour flight? No way.
I think the 20+ continuous years of Southwest profitability proves the point.
One other point missed in the anti-Song diatribes I read is this: with no FC, you have no non-upgrades. You have no irate elite fliers fuming that they were denied an upgade even though they had an XYZ fare and are PM and how dare some government employee with a ABC fare get ahead of them and this is the last straw they are going to UA blah blah blah. With Song you have fliers who like the live TV, like the leather seats, like the menus and don't compalin so darn much.
I have to disagree about people willing to pay the extra $ 400. But maybe just not enough of them......
The lack of available upgrades (Song as well as mainline) does have another effect on PAX such as myself: I buy higher fare tickets, but am no longer loyal to just one airline. Same as the once a year Priceline traveller, I will go for low bid for a product that fits my need.
Looks like I am in the minority - willing to pay more for better service - again while everybody's flocking to Walmart (Southwest).
But for some reason this seems to be quite different with hotels. If you spend a week at Hiltons as opposed to Hampton Inn, you're probably going to spend an extra $ 400, but people seem to be willing to do this (so am I). Why not for air travel??????