As this process happens it will probably result in a better experience for the remaining elites since CO is so severley underserving demand in its domestic FC cabin.

I would hope this is not part of a conscious strategy since alienating a company's most loyal customers is obviously not in CO's best interest. Still, I undertand why CAL likes to operate as much as possible slightly above its total capacity, since empty seats are a killer in this very challenging business (unless, of course, you're running WN, in which case LF doesn't seem to matter).