DCliftonTX

I just received an email from UA where we can buy access to the special coach seats for 1 year. Hopefully, AA is ignoring all of this nonsense.
Here is the url and a few snippets.

http://www.united.com/page/article/0...%2Fbuyepaccess

Purchase the new Economy Plus AccessSM
United is the only airline offering Economy Plus® seating which provides up to 5 inches of extra legroom. Economy Plus is available on domestic and international United flights, on United Express* and Ted in the seating section in the front of economy.
With the introduction of Economy Plus Access, you can now reserve, at the time of booking, Economy Plus seats for yourself and a guest traveling on the same reservation.
Purchase one-year membership for Economy Plus Access $299

Your other new Economy Plus Access options:
Give Economy Plus Access $299.00
You can give the gift of Economy Plus AccessSM for someone special. The member will have access to Economy Plus seating for a year.

Economy Plus Access with Red Carpet Club $699.00
In addition to Economy Plus Access (or seating for you and a guest), you will have an individual membership in United’s Red Carpet Club. United’s Red Carpet Club is an oasis at airports worldwide for the frequent traveler.

Economy Plus Access with Premier® Fast Track $749.00
In addition to Economy Plus Access, you can earn elite status faster and enjoy all the benefits of Mileage Plus Premier® status.

SNAGold

Uh oh.......here we go.......

bombayhog

This has been around for a while (since middle of last year IIRC). It's marketed at non-elites if I'm not mistaken, who would otherwise have had to purchase higher- or full-fare tickets to have access to E+ seating. I believe Elites still get access to the E+ seats without paying the $299.

It actually seems like a good idea to me. If I was going to start flying UA a significant amount I would definitely consider signing up for this.

I'm not a UA expert however, so please correct me if I'm mistaken.....

MileageGoblin

How much longer b/f the airlines come out with:

"For an additional fee, you can check bags at the First Class ticket counter on domestic flights and board with the first group after first class!!!"

SAT Lawyer

This isn't a response to NW. Econonmy Plus Access was unveiled in August 2005. Here is the thread in the UA forum.

UA elites will still have access to E+, bulkheads, and exit rows (Premier Executive and above) at no charge. This is one colossal difference with NW's new policy.

I think it is a great idea for UA. Why not collect additional revenue with plenty of available seats with extra legroom even after elites are generally accommodated?

Why is this in the AA forum, by the way?

DCliftonTX

You may be right. I delete 99.9% of the email I get from UA so I may have wasted a lot of people's time with this one.

However, it is an example of the airline diluting elite advantages by allowing the great unwashed masses to buy their way in. Of course, I would never try to buy my way into anything.

olimaspecto

The E+ access from UA to which the OP refers has been around a while and is nothing new. I feel that it is actually more legitimate than the NW thing as you get a whole year's access and there are many of these seats on each flight. Plus, elites have free access to E+, the promotion of purchasing access is for the general traveler.

MileageGoblin

It's a sucker deal. Only the $749 option of Red Carpet Club, E+, and faster elite is worth anything.

In order to utilize $299 worth of E+, you would have to fly a decent amount. Thus, flying a decent amount gives you elite status which would therefore make it free. So is $299 for a few flights really worth it when you'll get it free eventually?

SAT Lawyer

Not necessarily. What if you and a friend or spouse are currently not UA elites and aren't purchasing a premium cabin ticket and have a very long transoceanic itinerary forthcoming? Let's say MIA-ORD-NRT-BKK. Many would say that a seat with four or five extra inches of pitch would be well worth $149.50 per person on such an itinerary.

Or what if you have six or seven short to medium haul domestic trips coming up and would prefer to be comfortable before you qualify for Premier status? You might feel that E+ Access is a bargain.

GUWonder

The UA thing is old news to me and I can actually see the UA thing being a better deal for more than this NW nonsense.

gemac

Compare it to the NW deal. If you and a companion make 5 R/Ts a year, with one connection each direction, you will each fly 20 segments. On NW, you would pay $300 each for exit row seating, a total of $600 for the two. On UA, a non-elite can get decent seats for himself and a companion for $299/year. And on AA, the non-elite is SOL. Note that the non-elite on UA and NW can choose the AA no pay option, but they have another choice.

For elites, UA is also better, as there are a lot more decent seats.

NW isn't treating their elites too well today.

AA53

Agree. Why shouldn't a business maximize their revenue stream opportunities?I hope AA adopts a policy where non elites paying deep discounted fares are not allowed access to premium aisle seats. Why should an elite traveler or someone paying a high fare sit in a middle seat while someone booking 6 months out paying 99 bucks gets a coveted seat?

seanp7

Well without hijacking this thread into a 'praise UA E+ thread', the key difference between NW & UA in this move to offer premium seating at a price is that UA protects elites by allowing them to reserve these seats in advance. UA have a similar concept to today's NW news (buy up to E+ at check-in for $39, etc) of which the worst that can happen to elite is that the E+ seat next to them gets taken. No biggie. I don't see this protection with NW's deal.

Also, if you have ever done a 3hr+ flight on UA then E+ for being an elite, or for paying $299 annually, for paying $xx-day-of-travel really *is* worth it, IME. Exit row E+ on an A320 has enormous leg room, and the extra couple of inches in E+ flying 8-14 hours to Australia or Asia can only be a good thing.

Fly AA J all the way

Let's say you take two transcons (non-ps) and a flight to Asia every year. Upgrades to J would cost a fortune if you are not elite/have no miles. While probably not quite enough to make 2P, (and the fact that you wouldn't be even close to 2P until the end), it might be worth $50/segment to not be in E-. If I had that kind of travel schedule, I'd buy it.

UnitedSkies

As others have noted, there isn't even a valid comparison between United's Economy Plus Access package and Northwest's Coach Choice program.

And since this is in AA's forum, what is it that AA gives that is so special to elites? Not being snippy, I actually don't know seeing that I'm not an AA frequent flyer.