Most airlines operate some sort of a special service between coasts, given how high yield some of these routes are. The most popular routes for these special services are from New York to both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
For example, United operates p.s. (Premium Service) flights from Newark to LAX and SFO, all of which feature flat beds in business class. Back in the day United operated these special flights out of JFK, though as of October 2015 they decided to pull out of JFK altogether, and rather operate these flights out of their Newark mega-hub. We’ve since learned that United regrets this move, but they can’t really undo it anymore.
In addition to flat beds in business class, these flights also feature enhanced food & beverage options, better bedding and amenities, etc. Unfortunately this also comes at a cost — at least at United, MileagePlus Premier members aren’t eligible for complimentary upgrades in these markets.
Anyway, No Mas Coach shares leaked information that suggests United p.s. will be renamed United Coast as of next month. Apparently the change will be in name only, and we won’t see changes to the seat, food & beverage service, etc.
However, apparently Boston to San Francisco will also become a United Coast route, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given that United recently announced they’d be adding flat bed seats in the market. Oddly Boston to Los Angeles isn’t getting the same love, even though JetBlue offers their incredible Mint product in the market.
Ultimately it doesn’t seem like all that much will be changing in terms of the quality of the product, but rather they just see a branding opportunity, and United is big into that. When you look at the “products” we’ve seen introduced lately, it looks like the craze is to name the product after the airline, and then add one other word — United Polaris, Delta One, etc.
It seems that they think this will resonate more with passengers than “Premium Service,” which seems like a rather generic term.
I’ll be curious to see when this is officially announced, and if any other aspects of the service change.
What do you make of the potential United Coast rebranding?
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