Couple of comments to add:
As I've said elsewhere, I have several huge problems with this "upgrade".
Apparently, from reports, the food quality is no worse than what was had, so that's at least a plus.
But, apparently the diner is now more of a "lounge" and most riders are expected to eat in the room.
This reflects the loss of a social atmosphere that I think attracts some riders, such as myself.
Secondly, at least on the LSL and Capitol, if you're a coach passenger this "upgrade" is really a downgrade. You have NO chance of enjoying fare better than the cafe car. I've frequently taken the Crescent to Atlanta, at least once a year for pretty much every year for the last 12. (I think I skipped one year, and some years I did it twice). I often took coach down and sleeper back and the only reason I did so was because I knew as a coach passenger I could get a decent meal. This will dissuade me from doing that in the future. (and more on that in a moment).
For the LSL, I will no longer consider it an option for travel to/from Buffalo if I'm visiting my son in college, nor will I recommend it, for this very reason.
As a sleeper passenger, I often enjoyed the chance to meet folks from sleepers and coach. They had different experiences and I've had wonderful conversations with pretty much everyone. This removes the opportunity to meet with coach passengers and talk over dinner.
As I've said before, with the Crescent at least, one of the big issues I've seen (though it's gotten better) is that very little attempt is often made to market it to coach passengers. Sometimes the diner attendant will come through and take reservations, and sometimes not. More than once, when they've come through I've heard people say, "Oh, I can get better food than the cafe?" They didn't know about the diner until it was brought up. Others have suggested solutions such as offering a coupon or something when you book in order to draw more attention. I think this is a great idea.
In any case, often, and especially when the diner attendant has NOT announced the diner or come through to take reservations, the diner is emptier than it could be. It seems to me, if you have empty seats and people don't know about the service, the solution isn't to cut the service, but to market it better.
And as for load factors, one can't simply point to a number and say, 'see'.
Let me give you an example. We just recently took the Coast Starlight from LAUS to Klamath Falls. (Great trip btw, good food and the diner attendant hustled to keep the diner full, and it showed.)
We booked two bedrooms (so I finally got to try the suite experience!)
Now, if no one booked them north of Klamath Falls, then those two bedrooms had say a 60% occupancy rate (i.e. us). But if someone booked them from say Portland to Seattle, maybe it's 70%.
But, that discounts possibilities such as:
Someone wanted a sleeper from just before Klamath to Seattle. But, since we were using it and there were no other rooms, they didn't book at all. This reflects a lack of capacity, NOT over capacity.
Unfortunately, there's no real simple way to solve this sort of capacity issue. Yes, in theory you could add another sleeper but that might ironically lower your load factor even if it increased your total number of passengers (and possibly revenue).
But, at this point, I have to say, it's likely that east coast sleepers are dead to me.
Check out
QuiCR, Quick, Crowdsourced Responses for businesses.