Air travel provides some insight into how market conditions determine quality (of service) in this case. Air travel used to be extremely expensive and out of re

Air travel provides some insight into how market conditions determine quality (of service) in this case. Air travel used to be extremely expensive and out of reach for the majority of Americans until airline deregulation took effect in 1978. My grandfather flew for Pan Am, and air travel was special, with incredible levels of customer service, and a corresponding price tag.[0] Deregulation was great because it opened up the market to more competition, and that led to lower prices. A true race to the bottom. Turns out, most people don't want to pay for more leg room, better service, more on time flights. They want the cheapest flight they can get (unless their company is footing the bill). So whenever I hear someone complain about leg room on a flight, or not enough overhead stowage, or crappy food, I think about the choices ticket buyers have made over the last 40 years. Price is almost always the first and most influential factor in a sale. Quality (whether actual quality or the illusion of quality) is usually way down the list of factors. [0]https://gizmodo.com/traveling-in-a-boeing-747-in-the-1970s-was-pretty-damn-1504637666 https://gizmodo.com/traveling-in-a-boeing-747-in-the-1970s-w...