> Is that a good/bad/ethical/predatory thing? It is a natural result of our economic system. Economists call it "extracting consumer surplus," and there are se

> Is that a good/bad/ethical/predatory thing? It is a natural result of our economic system. Economists call it "extracting consumer surplus," and there are several mechanisms companies employ to get the population to pay them the maximum amount of money. Airlines indeed use the information they have about you and the flight you're booking to guess the maximum amount you'll pay- and that's the price they show you. Obviously we, as consumers, feel taken advantage of because we wish we could pay less (and keep the surplus to ourselves). But this is going to happen in any capitalist system.