Exleftseat

Interesting article : http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...222-story.html

JBord

Thanks for posting, interesting article. If nothing else, it provides more proof to the theory that basic economy fares are nothing more than a way to raise prices, not a way to break current prices into smaller pieces as some have suggested.

Most of my travel is domestic, so that part works for me, but I wonder if it means they'll be cutting international routes. Some times I read these articles and then never personally notice the change.

blahmeh14

This is a concerning sentence to me. I mainly fly from Hub to Hub, and having my options slimmed down from, for instance, 10-12 evenly spaced options per day to just 3 or 4 times would be the tipping point that makes me look more closely at other carriers.

The reason why United has me captive at SFO is because of the variety of times. For instance, AA only offers 4 flights daily from SFO to ORD, while UA has 10+. However, if United decides to group all of their flights around 4 times instead of the 10-12 evenly spaced options currently, then there will be little difference between the two in terms of flexibility. And, with AA having ~40inch pitch in F, that would probably tip the scale for me towards them for at least some of those legs.

eajusa

I totally agree.

lotemblizej

I wish UA well but they have already pulled back in so many markets like LAX, SEA and even MIA that it is hard to imagine them stopping the downward spiral, especially as other carriers have been happy to take their place.

demkr

"United officials say they still want to cut the time it takes to prep an arriving aircraft for its next flight — United takes about 6 percent longer than its competitors."

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I'm not sure it's a way to raise prices as much as it's a way to get people to pay for the higher fares offered. Want E+ as a Premier? Can't buy Basic Economy.

AirbusFan2B

Boarding could be made more efficient saving 5m per turn (6%+).

FlyfromDenver

Cynical, I know. The advertising for this should break any minute for something they intend to deliver in 2-4 years.

Maybe they should try to fully deliver the new first class domestic seats and Polaris first.

TA

I don't think it's referring to the most frequent hub-to-hub flights.

mduell

I doubt it will have much effect on the higher volume hub-hub routes due to the frequency they have, more noticeable banking for spoke-hub/hub-spoke.

jp12687

<quote>There likely also will be new products in between economy and Polaris. Haywood said United wants to offer a premium economy class, but is still working out what that might look like.<quote>

that was then line i found interesting in reference to a real PE class.

LASUA1K

First, UA will not go 4 daily on SFO-ORD. Also, if you are planning on sitting in first, UA has 777's on the route that are far superior in first.

cyclogenesis

+1 Upgraded on the new 777-200 config.. lieflat in first is awesome.. That said.. on that route I will be doing all I can to get upgraded

blahmeh14

Oh, of course! I know they won't be decreasing volume. But, the article mentioned sending off flights in waves to make connections easier. For instance, 3 planes at 8am, 3 planes at noon, 3 planes at 4pm, and 3 planes at 8pm are still twelve flights per day, but it is much less flexible than doing one flight per hour/hour and a half as they are doing now.

The past few times I've flown SFO-ORD-SFO, I've made sure to book the 777s (in F). Haven't managed to get a lie-flat config yet. The Hawaiian config still beats the narrow-bodies by a mile, though. I will keep my fingers crossed!