Originally Posted by
jhayes_1780
It is an EXCLUSIVE route (from the americas) shouldn't UA set the price?
Well, for one thing, it's not like a non-stop from SFO is the only way to get between the US and CAN. There are plenty of options that are only marginally less convenient. And even if there weren't, its not like demand for passengers would be inelastic on this route.
This was going to be an expensive route to begin with, because the 777 would have to sit in CAN overnight, IIRC. That may not be tied directly to the cost of fuel, but if the revenue from passengers+cargo (even at raised prices) would not cover the cost of fuel+lost revenue from keeping a plane on the ground for half a day, it seems perfectly reasonable to delay the route.
Regardless, I don't think there were necessarily C and full Y/B passengers lining up to take the flight.