Might be even a bit more cynical they’ll push it as a premium economy option and shrink the economy class even further. I might have a strong case of selection

Might be even a bit more cynical they’ll push it as a premium economy option and shrink the economy class even further. I might have a strong case of selection bias but on nearly every 3-4 class config flight I’ve been on in the past 5 years had business me premium economy classes fully seated whilst economy was 60-80% full. Business travel is now economy premium by default and nearly everyone else upgrades at the airport. It seems that charging people $400 during booking then $100 at the checkin twice for upgrades is psychologically easier than charging them $600 when booking.