> having tickets be free - the main source of income for the airlines was in duty-free on either end of the journey anyway I'm sure that was pretty far-fetched

> having tickets be free - the main source of income for the airlines was in duty-free on either end of the journey anyway I'm sure that was pretty far-fetched and not something actually viable. Considering duty-free isn't even a thing for most Ryanair/other cheap airline flights because they are inside the EU.