There is absolutely no reason why AS couldn't afford to replace its old, worn-out F seats with new F seats that are more comfortable. This does not involve any loss of seats or loss of revenue. I think the seat pitch on the 738s and 739s in F is fine at 37-38". However, I think it's safe to assume comfort is one of the main factors in deciding to pay the extra $$$ for paid F. AS could potentially gain revenue from more people being willing to pay for transcon F if the seat were actually comfortable. Obviously AS is not going to compete with VX in terms of the F cabin, but they can certainly remain competitive with AA, UA or DL narrowbody fleets.

So basically, I agree there is unlikely to be a sigificant ROI for Economy Plus, but I do think there would be ROI for just making the F seats more comfortable.

The thing is that AS's fleet is a lot less worn out than others. Try flying an AA SlAAveship (757 pre-refurb) sometime. I think most of AS's fleet's newer than UA's, too... it's just the F seats they've selected kinda suck-diddly-uck.

Can I just + this to infinity?

My upgrade percentage on UA international flights (where I can use SWUs) is vastly higher than my upgrade percentage on AS transcons. If I was flying internationally every month, it would drop down, naturally, because SWUs are finite, but since I'm never upgraded on AS transcons these days, it would still be higher.

Sure, same here. But, writing as the OP, the point of this thread was much more about the transcons, where F really makes a difference. Sure, I, too, get upgraded a majority of the time on AS' West Coast routes... but if I didn't, I wouldn't be too upset. Two hours in non-exit row Y I can tolerate. Five and a half hours and I'm hobbled when I walk off the airplane.

I have to agree, on several recent flights I know the attendants quite well and asked about the lack of upgrades. In each case the F cabon was full of paying customers, no elites were upgrades. Row 15 had three 75K's and two Golds sitting together. While this is frustrating compared to other airlines I do like that AS still provides some benefits to elites sat in coach such as a free drink, Digi etc. depending on level. On other airlines if you're not upgraded then you're a nobody for the most part.

You get a free drink if you're an MVPG and a Digiplayer if you're a 75K. What did you mean by "etc."?

I agree that it's nice that they recognize their elites in Y, but I'd rather be recognized by being in a seat with more legroom.

Agreed in general, but I've spent a good chunk of the last few weeks flying CO midcons and transcons and haven't seen a single blanket in F. Do you know something I don't? I assume you're talking about domestic F service since you mention DirecTV (which, by the way, thanks to the merger I'm now getting used to, is fairly awesome and a great argument for IFE over Digiplayers).

Sorry, I will try to be more grammatically accurate in future posts; I hope the inadvertent "etc." doesn't cause too much confusion.

But they're instrument upgrades, which is a bit different.

I think the bottom line is whether or not AS cares enough about your comfort on SEA-EWR/BOS to hurt their bottom line on SEA-LAS/LAX/DEN/ORD/DFW/IAH. (I threw some midcons in there because... yep, there's plenty of U space on those, too).

I don't think we're all that far apart here, but you previously wrote, "Legacies doing international flying most certainly don't give away IAD-LHR F and J seats like they give away IAD-SEA."

Yes, there are different types of upgrades, but my bottom line is that as a UA 1K and an AS MVPG, I'm upgraded on a higher percentage of my international flights on UACO (I'm 4 for 4 this year, and Mrs Seaflyguy is 1 for 1 using one of my SWUs) than I'm upgraded on domestic transcons and Hawai'i flights on AS (I'm 0 for 6 this year). If you want to compare instrument-to-instrument upgrades, it works out the same: I've been able to use my UA SWUs on 5 of 5 flights this year, while on transcons and Hawai'i flights, I've been able to use my Gold chits on 0 of 6 flights.

So from my subjective viewpoint, UA is more generous in upgrading me internationally than AS is on long-haul domestic routes. Perhaps the numbers would be slightly different if I flew more internationally on UA (and therefore exhausted my SWUs), or if I were 75K on AS, but I don't think they'd change radically.

You write that AS has a choice between my comfort on transcons versus their bottom line on midcons and West Coast flights. That's a misleading choice of words. It's their choice between my business on transcons versus their bottom line on other routes. Now, so far, that choice has worked out well for them. Again, as an AS shareholder, I applaud their performance. I just know that personally, I'm done flying AS transcons until they provide better seating options for elites. If I'm in a very small minority, then I don't expect them to change, nor should they -- their primary responsibility is to their shareholders. But if there are many more elites like me, then at some point they'll change. I don't know enough about AS' elite population to hazard a guess as to how this will play out, or when.

Finally, as for your comment on midcon upgrade availability, it's still far worse on AS than on UACO. It has been a while since I was upgraded on an AS midcon, whereas if I book at least a week out, and don't change plans at the last minute, I'm always upgraded on UACO. So I wouldn't call it "plenty of U space" (again, from my subjective viewpoint).