You don’t know that, you’re just projecting your opinion onto the flying public. I would have thought price competition was the leading driver in ticket sales, but the company’s market research suggests brand loyalty is actually a huge player. I think UAL is betting that social conscience is going to be an effective element of their brand. Are they right? Only time will tell, but my sense is that while most people will probably not give much thought to the issue, there will be far fewer people offended by diversity initiatives than appreciative of them.

We all live in our bubbles, but I think it’s possible you may be overestimating how many people see diversity & immediately assume standards must necessarily have been lowered to achieve it.