In theory, I think (IMHO, of course) that's a good idea... give people the chance to pay for what they want -- "unbundling" if you will, just like what AC does right now. But what concerns me is the "education" aspect of such a project.

AC did a good job of unbundling the whole travel experience - and also did a good job of educating customers and staff about the different types of fares (Tango, Latitude, etc). They also did things in phases and slowly - and when they got reactions, they took actions quickly and let this unbundling project evolve and grow. Today, in the US/CAN market, they have only THREE economy class options - Tango, Tango Plus and Latitude. It used to be four, and at one time, I think there were even four names which got consolidated to two "basic names" and then the "plus" added to each of those names. They listened to staff and customers, simplified the names, and even reduced the number of different fare types. They've also introduced similar structures for other markets (such as intl, and also for Caribbean markets).

Go to http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/oneway/index.html and see how well their message is communicated.

They educate the public in local ads - and oh, don't forget you've got a language issue too, as they are legally obligated to serve customers in both Francais et Anglais. But they manage... and do it well.

Now, with respect to UA, look around the boards and you'll see feedback about staff not knowing the facts about existing products such as Economy Plus. UA is much larger than AC, and in my experience, seems to have difficulty communicating details to front-line staff. (I mean, how well do we FTers know the rules? )

If UA can pull off the "education" and information transparency issues, then yes, in theory, it can possibly be successful. Now, however, throw in the Star Alliance and Code Sharing -- how do you weigh THAT into the equation -- can your UA "membership" count for travel on US metal, or on interline connections? Too many questions... and that means too many answers from different people.

It's tricky when you have a lot of products and services you already offer...

Oh yes - and let's not forget that there are issues with the res systems and an impending cutover to Amadeus by UA in the future. With AC, they have a res system that is like none other and can handle things like prepaid flight passes. I believe ITA built it for them, so it's certainly not an antiquated system.

Bottom line, I don't think UA's infrastructure (technology + staff) can handle it right now.

Just my $0.02 of course.