3 ms·

They caused it by racing to the bottom. They could fix it, but won’t.

• snakeyjake 3y ago
  They may be racing to the bottom but you don't have to. I pay the EXACT SAME for airfare that I did in the 90s and 2000s, adjusted for inflation. The standard of service and amenities are better. You can fly, today, right now, from NYC to Paris in a gigantic lie-flat seat with a widescreen entertainment device, goodie bag, hot towels throughout the flight, food that's actually decent, and personal electrical sockets right next to your elbow for less than what a turbo-economy non-reclining middle seat in the aft-most bulkhead row next to the lavatories would have cost in the late-90s/early-2000s. But most people select "price: lowest to highest" and click on the lowest number regardless of how bad that option is (connections, flight time, product quality, rewards, fees) and then get angry when corners are cut. It's like buying a chromebook and getting mad when it can't run Solidworks.
  • kashunstva 3y ago
    > But most people select "price: lowest to highest" and click on the lowest number regardless of how bad that option is That the quality of the premium service is unchanged may say little about the how the experience has changed in the lower tiers. The issue in those service tiers may not be in comparison to the first class experience but in comparison to previous years’ experience. That said, though I rarely fly, and when I do it’s never in some rarefied class of service, I don’t perceive much difference. The security theatre is the most notable change; but that’s hardly the fault of the airlines. The opacity and complexity of the rewards programs is an irritation; but I suppose it’s my own indulgence that I just ignore all that.