US Airlines Trying to Compete.
August 3, 2007
United has upgraded its business class cabins on its international flights. Maybe they too are getting the message: high prices and bad service don't "blend" as Marisa Tomei said to Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny. Most importantly, United is installing lie-flat seats. Also, personal TVs and noise-cancelling headphones.
American Airlines and Delta Airlines have announced that they are going to upgrade their business-class service. We'll see what they do.
But none of these upgrades will matter unless they lower the rates too. Frequent flyer miles have destroyed first class service because three out of four people in first class are not paying for their seats. That means those that do have to pay much more than they should.
Branson offers a better deal. He sells his businsss and first-class seats for about half of what the other airlines charge. That is still more than they should be. A round trip, first-class ticket from New York to England should cost about $1600 or $1800 dollars. That would be enough to provide a good profit and low enough to create a good market. But you can't do that when you are giving away most of the seats.
posted by M. Masterson @ 8:41 AM,
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