<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bocastephen:
[B* modifying the fleet to reduce the number of available FC seats so that there are only enough upgrades for high fare Elites or just enough to sell to full Y passengers - thereby removing a core benefit without having to say you removed or changed it[/B]</font>
The only aircraft that were modified were 9 757-300's. First class was reduced from 24 to 12 seats, thus a decline of 108 FC seats on that aircraft type. These planes are used mostly on low-yield leisure routes, and yes, they occassionally show up on other routes. To say that the 'fleet' has been modified is a bit of a stretch. It was only 9 aircraft. Furthermore, plans are to increase seats on the 737-800's from 14 to 18, a plan that has been put on hold due to the state of the industry as it costs around $1 million per aircraft to do this. When and if this increase modification starts, it will add around 250 FC seats. I can understand you other points, but I think that saying the fleet FC has been reduced is unfair.