United splits its premium fares into three tiers

United is extending the three-tier premium fare model it already runs on long-haul routes to its domestic and short-haul international network, according to Skift. In practice, premium passengers no longer get a single cabin option. They now pick between three levels of service and flexibility, each with its own price.

The logic is straightforward: better segmentation of business travellers on short routes, where premium used to be sold almost as a single block. If an executive will pay more to change a New York-Chicago flight at the last minute, United wants to capture that money with a fare ladder, not a flat rate.

My read: this is a revenue management move other airlines will copy. Travel managers will need to revisit their policies, because the cheapest premium tier may not include the free change their corporate traveller assumes is standard. And watch the OTAs and GDSs, which will have to learn how to display three premium products where there used to be one.