4 ms·

The truth is that airlines are just responding to what people value- they value low price above everything. There is still business class for those that value c

The truth is that airlines are just responding to what people value- they value low price above everything. There is still business class for those that value comfort more than low cost. My guess is that the inflation adjusted price for business class today is similar to the economy class price from before de-regulation.

refurb 8y ago
Agreed. You can tell by the offering of bare bones tickets - ones you can’t even bring a carryon that is too big to put under the seat. People aren’t even willing to shell out another $20 for that.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  I think the problem is that the base, cheapest ticket prices have been generally increasing while at the same time losing 'features' that now cost an additional amount of money to have. It's not like airfare is decreasing when they arbitrarily decide you must now pay for water.
  - refurb 8y ago
    Hmmm... I guess it depends on your timeframe, but I’m constantly amazed at how much cheaper airfare has gotten over the last decade, when you account for inflation. Particularly if you look international. 10 years ago a US to Asia flight was $1200-$1400 at the absolute cheapest. Now you can often find flights in the $600-900 range, regularly.
  - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
    In my own experience ticket prices have been plummeting over the years. This [1] article provides data indicating a > 50% drop since 1979. That article is up to 2013 and they also seem to have been constantly dropping since then as well. Interestingly the article gets into the reason that many individuals seem to have not noticed this. [1] - https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-airline-ticket-prices-fell-50-in-30-years-and-why-nobody-noticed/273506/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-air...
smelendez 8y ago
I think there's too much randomness in air travel to evaluate anything besides price. Pay more for more legroom? Is that before or after the person ahead of you reclines their seat? Will there be room to stow your small bag, or will that be where you want your feet to go? Will the person behind you put their feet on the arm rest and force you to lean forward? Will the person next to you be too tall or wide for the seat?

refurb 8y ago

Agreed. You can tell by the offering of bare bones tickets - ones you can’t even bring a carryon that is too big to put under the seat. People aren’t even willing to shell out another $20 for that.

craftyguy 8y ago
I think the problem is that the base, cheapest ticket prices have been generally increasing while at the same time losing 'features' that now cost an additional amount of money to have. It's not like airfare is decreasing when they arbitrarily decide you must now pay for water.
- refurb 8y ago
  Hmmm... I guess it depends on your timeframe, but I’m constantly amazed at how much cheaper airfare has gotten over the last decade, when you account for inflation. Particularly if you look international. 10 years ago a US to Asia flight was $1200-$1400 at the absolute cheapest. Now you can often find flights in the $600-900 range, regularly.
- TangoTrotFox 8y ago
  In my own experience ticket prices have been plummeting over the years. This [1] article provides data indicating a > 50% drop since 1979. That article is up to 2013 and they also seem to have been constantly dropping since then as well. Interestingly the article gets into the reason that many individuals seem to have not noticed this. [1] - https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-airline-ticket-prices-fell-50-in-30-years-and-why-nobody-noticed/273506/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-air...

smelendez 8y ago

I think there's too much randomness in air travel to evaluate anything besides price. Pay more for more legroom? Is that before or after the person ahead of you reclines their seat? Will there be room to stow your small bag, or will that be where you want your feet to go? Will the person behind you put their feet on the arm rest and force you to lean forward? Will the person next to you be too tall or wide for the seat?