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Comment by ori_b | Hacker News Reader

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ori_b·

> 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...

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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.

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.

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