This goes back to the differences in operating strategies: while profitable, US Airways currently doesn't need to chase after the high-paying segment to the same degree that American does, largely because it has benefited from having a lower cost base over the years. But, as mentioned earlier, such costs will rise with merger synergies, and if there is one thing that airline elitists have zero tolerance for, it is product dilution. Doug Parker cannot afford to allow the newly merged carrier to water down American's product and elite benefits. Look no further than United, which under Jeff Smisek (who came from Continental), has seen wave after wave of elite passenger seek refuge with other airlines after growing fed up of service downgrades.