OP
- Dec 5, 2003
- 21,709
- 10,721
- Thread Starter
- #61
Think about it... a business elite seat can take up as much space as 3 or more coach seats. It should tell you about the economics of how well DL does in the overall economy market - which is predominantly coach/economy travel - that DL can generate revenue premiums to the industry AND also reduce CASM by putting more total seats on the aircraft.
But there clearly is a premium int'l market and DL does serve it well. They just are not willing to leave seats open for non-revs or fill them with upgrades. The fact that DL's average fare in many int'l markets is as high or higher than what AA and UA get with their much more premium heavy configurations says that DL prices its product where it can make the most money and doesn't put more capacity in the market than it can observe.
But there clearly is a premium int'l market and DL does serve it well. They just are not willing to leave seats open for non-revs or fill them with upgrades. The fact that DL's average fare in many int'l markets is as high or higher than what AA and UA get with their much more premium heavy configurations says that DL prices its product where it can make the most money and doesn't put more capacity in the market than it can observe.
