Originally Posted by
JetBlueFA
Business travelers want roomier seats and more perks. Our "expanded" legroom is still extremely cheaper than a first or business class ticket on any major carrier. Everybody is going to react differently to this. We still offer the most legroom of any coach product and still offer our award winning service.
I agree with everything I quoted above. The problem is that the biz pax aren't just looking for legroom. They also want seat width. The LOL seats are fine, and the EML seats have more legroom, but there is still only 17.8" of seat width, and that can be tight. Plus that's the best one can hope for on a B6 flight, while other carriers may still have another level above it (ie E-, E+ and F). The reason that your EML seats will have to remain cheaper than F/J on any other carrier is that you just aren't competing with them.
- No free drinks
- No free food (any different than Y)
- No pre-boarding
- No elite access through security
- No increased luggage allowance (and this is a big one as more carriers start charging for the second bag; Delta has announced that they will be as well.)
As you can see, you aren't really competing except in a single dimmension - pitch. And you're charging a reasonable premium for that extra space, but it is truly a discretionary spend, as 34" pitch is just fine for most people.