Originally Posted by
sbm12
There is availability on VX because the markets they compete in have better offerings. UA's p.s. service is better for J/F than VX's F service. AA's probably is too, though I haven't tried it. The VX service has at least one element that is better than CO's transcon option - pitch/seat - but that's just for CO/DL/B6, not the others. And to suggest that the greater pitch equates to greater value only addresses one of several components of valuable service. That the seats remain available simply shows that there is not demand for them, despite the fact that they may be better than other carriers in some regards. I guess the travelling public - especially those paying to be in the pointy end of the plane - really does evaluate their decision on many different criteria, not just cost
I'm not sure that's the reason. I haven't yet tried VX's product but it can't be that much different than UA's PS C product, which is nice when it goes as planned but is often spoiled by bad crews and/or broken seats. VX has what appears to be a better seat with better IFE for about 1/3 of the price of UA C on SFO-JFK. I think the reason there is availability is because it doesn't yet appear on many corporate booking engines. That, and they don't sell refundable tickets at all, so certain companies' travel policies prohibit any VX travel.
Back on topic, I think I'll stick it out this month and see how my next six flights go. I'm on the exact same flight (CO 348) next week in paid F. Also, I suppose I'll write CO about the service lapses (no predeparture beverages, no service after dinner, no cookies, indifferent crew) but I'm curious if this actually does any good.