Announcing Premium Economy & new 777-300ERs
Oct 9, 2013, 8:08 pm
#1126
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ontario, CAN
Posts: 5,813
Agreed. Seems like a short sighted decision by AC management based on cost (surprised?).
They are going to have problems filling these aircraft in low season at any sort of reasonable RASM. Combine that with the negative word of mouth these aircraft will create, and the operational problems when IRROPs occur and it doesn't look like a good decision.
They are going to have problems filling these aircraft in low season at any sort of reasonable RASM. Combine that with the negative word of mouth these aircraft will create, and the operational problems when IRROPs occur and it doesn't look like a good decision.
Oct 9, 2013, 10:11 pm
#1127
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,967
I still think that AC will have to try and get some of the market from Air Transat from the French customer if they want to fill those planes. But still there is no sign of any AC marketing in France that I have seen.
Oct 10, 2013, 7:42 am
#1128
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan 75K, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,374
Looks like I was right. YVR-HKG on Dec. 11 is no longer the new HD 777. ExpertFlyer shows O class is gone, and I've received notification from AC that my itinerary has changed to YVR-HKG on Dec. 13 instead.
Oct 10, 2013, 10:50 am
#1129
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,384
SE on Flex will get the upgrade before the A75K in PE and Flex who in turn will get the upgrade before the A50K.
If PE is indeed a "premium" cabin as the name implied, those in PE should get the upgrade before those in the regular economy cabin. If those in the regular economy cabin actually have priority over those in PE, they should pay more eUpgrade credits for that benefit.
In case of an equipment change where the new equipment has no PE cabin, those A50K and A75K in PE will most likely be down-graded to economy while the SE on Flex will have the upgrade cleared to J.
Why should I risk flying AC's PE? It's the same with avoiding the A345 or A333 in the old days when the J cabins on those 2 aeroplanes have more seats than the A343 and 767.
Burnt on the A345 and A333 before, not to be burnt on the 77P!
If PE is indeed a "premium" cabin as the name implied, those in PE should get the upgrade before those in the regular economy cabin. If those in the regular economy cabin actually have priority over those in PE, they should pay more eUpgrade credits for that benefit.
In case of an equipment change where the new equipment has no PE cabin, those A50K and A75K in PE will most likely be down-graded to economy while the SE on Flex will have the upgrade cleared to J.
Why should I risk flying AC's PE? It's the same with avoiding the A345 or A333 in the old days when the J cabins on those 2 aeroplanes have more seats than the A343 and 767.
Burnt on the A345 and A333 before, not to be burnt on the 77P!
Oct 10, 2013, 10:57 am
#1130
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP,AS MVPG,MR Platinum,HH Gold
Posts: 1,343
That's exactly how it works on BA. They have 3 PE fare classes: W, E and T. T is routinely the same price as the lowest Economy fares on sale (sometimes cheaper), often as low as $1700 round trip out of SFO. These have a much lower upgrade cost (0.5X coach redemption instead of 1.0X coach redemption) and guarantee at minimum a better seat and a better meal. It only makes sense to buy them if they are on offer. Especially if they're cheaper than the lowest available economy fares!
Last edited by arcticbull; Oct 10, 2013 at 11:03 am
Oct 10, 2013, 10:58 am
#1131
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AC*SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 4,604
A fair way to do it would be - Y, B, O, M since upgrading from PE to J requires the same credits as M, and that aligns better with the fare prices. Note that when you book Y segments on a PE ticket, it books in the B fare class.
Oct 10, 2013, 11:00 am
#1132
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,156
So Latitude should get an "automatic" upgrade to Executive/Executive First because someone had paid more for less?
Oct 10, 2013, 11:20 am
#1133
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,384
If they want to go to a revenue-based priority system, I'm fine with that, but arbitrarily moving PE to the front is just going to annoy all their customers who purchase Y fares.
Oct 10, 2013, 11:40 am
#1134
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,156
I didn't say that, I just don't see any reason why PE should have priority over Y "just because".
If they want to go to a revenue-based priority system, I'm fine with that, but arbitrarily moving PE to the front is just going to annoy all their customers who purchase Y fares.
If they want to go to a revenue-based priority system, I'm fine with that, but arbitrarily moving PE to the front is just going to annoy all their customers who purchase Y fares.
If PE is consistently cheaper than Flex, something is very wrong.
Last edited by Clipper801; Oct 10, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Oct 10, 2013, 8:30 pm
#1136
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,384
Oct 10, 2013, 8:44 pm
#1137
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP,AS MVPG,MR Platinum,HH Gold
Posts: 1,343
The more people ask me to explain how/why something works the way it does at an airline, the more I realize none of it makes a lot of sense yet it somehow happens to work. It's like a beach ball made out of a burlap sack full of angry cats. Both are essentially ball-like; one is far less pleasant to play with.
Oct 10, 2013, 8:48 pm
#1138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere I need to be.
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold, NEXUS, GE, ABTC/APEC, South Korea SES, eIACS, PP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 16,046
Oct 11, 2013, 10:55 am
#1140
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: UA 1K, AC MM E75, Marriott LT Ti, IHG Dia Amb, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 15,523
Let me relate a similar story but with a totally different outcome. Met a guy from YYZ in WAW this summer who booked PE on Lot. When the 787 was taken out of service, LO gave him a J seat on the replacement aircraft. Then the 787 came back in service, and they let him keep his J seat. What a classy airline. ^^ Can we expect same from AC? LOL