CCayley

Before you know it they will try to find ways of filling F seats with people who've paid F fares instead of giving them to elites. Outrageous!

coairtul

Regarding my breath easy comment I completely understand regarding Channa and some others responses. On another note all I can say is that it was nice to taste a first class seat as a employee but now I doubt if I ever will anymore.. Oh well....

Billiken

FWIW (re system/EUA problems):

I'm doing a MR tomorrow (4-FEB).

My BWI-IAH and IAH-SEA segments were upgraded at the 5-day window.
(I'm on L fare.)

PSU Mudder

Before you know it, the best customers will begin booking on any random airline giving them the best price/schedule combination, instead of staying loyal. Outrageous!

CCayley

It could possibly lead to some genuine differentiation between the services offered by the legacy carriers: Continental offering superior services in order to attract whatever is left of the market for people who will actually pay for them, and US crammed to the gills with ex-Continental elites for whom knowing that their $100 fare gets them a seat at the front is the most important thing, and certainly trumps any considerations of service quality etc.

pptp

Anyone notice how little CO expects to make off of this feature. Only 5-10 mil
Doesn't sound like it will be used that much.

EWR764

I agree 100%, but note that CO saw a fairly significant RASM plunge in January, which is very troubling considering the capacity adjustments that were implemented to avoid this scenario. CASM benefits due to reduced fuel costs and operational improvements are going to be wiped out if CO cannot generate additional revenue per seat mile flown.

I suppose this had something to do with the development of the new F buy-up program.

To implement the system properly, I echo whoever noted that it should be a standby-based system, not a confirmed upgrade at the kiosk. The way I see it, the system should have the following provisions:


-Upgrades buy-ups available to non-elites only after the 3-hour mark, that way, if the EUA is run, most elites who were going to be upgraded anyway, in theory, should have already cleared. This can apply to OLCI as well, but should only be within 3h. Inside 3 hours, the process seems transparent enough already that Elites will be prioritized higher than buy-ups, so I have no issue with it.

-Allow Gold/Platinums to list companions at the 24h mark with OLCI, with this benefit terminating inside the 3-hour mark and going exclusively under airport control. This will allow the system to see how many Elite/companions will likely be on the standby list for F, and permit better forecasting of buy-up availability. I believe this would provide a way to work around the scenario some replies have presented where a late companion + a confirmed buy-up could theoretically bump a lower-status member out of a possible upgrade. I believe most customers who are aware of the companion upgrade benefit and intend to use it know of their situation in advance of a flight, and would avail themselves of a possible OLCI companion upgrade feature, thereby reducing the number of requests at the airport.

-Build the system so that each aircraft type has a cutoff point (say 3 or so) F seats available that would make the distinction between confirmed buy-ups and standby buy-ups to F.

For example, suppose a non-elite customer shows up for CO1419 (7:05a TPA-EWR) on a Saturday, operated by a 757, and only 11/16 F seats are booked, with all Elites upgraded, and zero on the standby list. The first two available buy-ups are offered as confirmed F seats to the customer, while the remaining 3 (or more) are offered as standby with no credit card charge until it clears. This would be explicitly stated to the customer, and then a plug for pda.co.com site would be shown to allow the customer to check his upgrade status. This way, if any Elites SDC onto the flight, or companions are added, there is a bit of a buffer for CO to ensure that they are filling all the seats and are tapping in to some extra revenue wherever possible.

On the other hand, if CO528 (8:30a, EWR-DEN), a 737-800 on a Wednesday, only has one seat available up front, with all elites upgraded, CO would solely offer standby buy-ups, just to hedge their bets. The same mechanism would be employed, and if the customer does not get upgraded, no charge is made, and everything remains status quo.

The upgrades could be offered by fare class, as well. M,H,K,Q, etc., customers could be offered a confirmed buy-up upgrade if it's available, but lower fare classes can just be limited to standby.


Anyway, those were just a few of my thoughts to keep the system equitable for CO's elites and their bottom line.

DesertFlier

I think it's important to note that not a lot of non-elites will pay the $$$ for an upgrade, even if it is offered as an option.

I've been in many a gate area over the years when AA and US were trying to sell FC upgrades, and no one was biting.

gbryan84

Where is CO Insider?

Bonehead

At the liquor store stocking up for this weekend, silly.

adastra

Given that there have been some interesting scenarios considered within this thread, I wonder if there will be occasions where an elite would be better served by pulling the OnePass number off the reservation and pretending to be non-elite?

I can't wait to see what we find out about this at the DO. Properly implemented, I assume it won't have significant impact on most normal travel. But I can see a lot of potential holes.

I also have noticed that other carrier have trouble selling upgrades. US does it, and I've seen F go out half-empty. DL is often hawking unwanted upgrades until the door shuts.

transportbiz

I am based at LAX, and am a PE on CO, I rarely get upgraded as is, and the few times I have been there are no empty seats in F. CO has some of the smallest F cabins in the business (fewest seats) and they are getting smaller, beginning June 11th (I think) CO will be flying ONLY 737-800 aircraft on the LAX-EWR route...so I'll not be taking that route anymore, and if I do certainly not tempted to bone up for the B-class with auto upgrade any more. Opps CO on that one.

Steph3n

It won't make much revenue at all,5 to 10 million is not very much, it won't be used much as most of the times F is already full.

Xyzzy

That's the kicker, now -- isn't it?!

fozz

I echo what channa said. EUA has existed for how many years and yet there are still a number of "issues" with it.

How can they expect this to reliably work and not impact elites.

It's rare, extremely rare in my experience, to see open seats up front and no one on the waitlist today. If CO can make this work without impacting elites, i'm all for it, but I highly doubt that.

Ideally, the only time upgrades should be sold is at the gate. The register for an upgrade idea is the best way to address it.