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Comment by warent | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious to hear more about the airline race to the bottom you're talking about. I've been flying once or twice a year for the last 7 years or so, and it's all pretty much been the same except perhaps a lot more addons and bagging fees.

Were airlines very different in the past?

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> Were airlines very different in the past?

Yes, they were much more expensive, but used to provide more for free. There was a time they even had legroom.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-air...

Air travel has become so cheap you can pretty much subsidize 3-4 domestic trips a year with a good rewards credit card and flexible dates. I am not sure this is a net win for my personal happiness as I rarely take these trips for fun reasons.

Air travel has certainly become cheaper than it was in the past, but there are two sides to this - that credit card rewards are relatively high is largely a function of high credit card fees.

Thats true the fees are probably shared between all customers and businesses so its not fair for those who can’t get a credit card.

Right - the rewards system is essentially a wealth transfer to those who have access to credit with the rewards acting as a refund of the bulk of the fees.

Right. If you give me $100 I’ll give you this free chocolate bar

Yeah, and ticket prices were 20 to 50% higher. Consumers had options and choose the lower price.

I remember not long ago when flying was a serious financial commitment. Flying economy from LA to NYC might set you back $600 in 2000 dollars ($900 today). Now you can find a ton of flights for under $400.

I don't want to go back to the way it was.

Yes. But much longer ago than 7 years. Seats have been getting closer together both in terms of less leg room and reduced seat width. Food has been all but eliminated from economy.

To see the continued slide take a look at basic economy and carriers like Spirit (to which basic economy is a response to). No assigned seats, no carry on bags, no drinks on the plane. They’d offer standing room only and charge for the restroom if they could get away with it.

Right. But they have no problem filling those planes. Even when consumers have the option of flying a marginally better economy flight for $50 more, they reject it.

If you do an internet search for “price wars us airlines” you will find some good info from about 25 years ago about this.

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