Considering airfares are the cheapest they've ever been in the US, I don't know how that's even remotely true. More of "the masses" are able to fly than ever before.
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/airfares/programs/economics_and_...
That shows 2014 has the highest CPI adjusted price since 2003 and the highest raw USD price going back as far as the data (1995).
Real prices have dropped 14% in the past 19 years, and have been basically flat since 2004, except for an obviously anomalous dip during the financial crisis (2009/2010). The prevailing trend lines are a steady drop of 1.7% per year from 1995-2004 and then a flat-line (.15% increase per year) 2004-2014. To go back a bit further, airfare dropped over 50% 1978-2006[1]. That is, the trend in the late '90s didn't start in '95.
So no, parent's comment isn't quite literally true (prices have gone up 1.5% in the last decade), but historically prices clearly trend down, which I think is the point.
[1] http://web.mit.edu/airlines/analysis/analysis_airline_indust...
We've established that. The data shows that flights this year were about 13% higher than at the lowest point, which was 2009 (recession). They are a little under 5% higher than the lowest point during the "mid 2000's". These numbers (~.25% increase per year over 10 years) are fairly insignificant when you look at the broader trends (>1% decrease per year over 3-4 decades).
"Fee to pick reasonable seats" means that people who prefer a lower price can pay less in exchange for getting worse seats, while people who insist on better seats have to pay.
"Fee to board at a reasonable time" either means that people with more carry-on luggage pay more, or it means that people who don't understand that being on the airplane earlier doesn't make you arrive earlier pay more for no reason. Either way, it's more opportunity for people who want to pay less to do so.
I'm not a big fan of airlines, but I don't see the problem with paying for optional services. Why should each ticket come with a free checked bag? Sure, it's nice when I'm actually checking luggage, but it means I've basically lost out on $25 (or whatever) on those occasions that I don't. Maybe you think, well, I never travel without checking a bag. But lots of people do, and there's no reason they should pay the same price when they don't need the same service.
Being on the plane, where I no longer need to be paying attention, is less stressful. That's not worth a lot to me, but it's not worthless.
On the topic more generally, my biggest objection to piling on the fees after the fact is a lack of price transparency - it makes it much more difficult to compare the same thing across airlines. Of course, that's a problem we could solve with software...
Price transparency is a problem, but not a huge one in my own experience (yours may, of course, vary). Airlines are rarely close enough in price for things like baggage fees to tip the scales, and when they are it's not too hard to see just what their policies are.
Agreed - that wasn't intended as an objection to paying, but as response to your implication that it was silly to want to. I understand that it wasn't intended very strongly; I was just sharing a view from the other side. I'd happily pay ten cents to board first. I wouldn't pay $100. Whether I'd take any given intermediate price depends on a lot of things...
"Price transparency is a problem, but not a huge one in my own experience (yours may, of course, vary). Airlines are rarely close enough in price for things like baggage fees to tip the scales, and when they are it's not too hard to see just what their policies are."
I've definitely spotted a case or two where different baggage fees made the difference as to which flight was cheaper, and even when I'm not looking for the absolute lowest price I'd like to know just how much I'm trading away against all the various other variables (time of day, number and length of layovers, past experiences with the airline, &c).
I imagine you've seen it, but Hipmunk at least takes a stab at balancing some of those issues into a single "agony" score you can sort by.
"Pay less" is how the airlines would like to phrase it, but as a consumer I care more about the comparison to what I paid yesterday. And today, if you're not paying for those services, you're actually paying the same amount that you used to. They're just charging other people more.
It's not like the prices went down when they converted these previously-free services into paid services. They just decided to start charging extra for something they used to give away for free and are busy enjoying the extra profit.
Sure, they're a business and they can charge whatever they want for whatever they want. But don't try and spin it as a win for the consumer so they can choose to pay less.
I do think baggage fees are a ripoff, and I don't pay for them. That doesn't mean that I have to like the fact that they've started charging for services that should be a part of normal service (like checking a bag the airplane has to fucking carry anyway). Nor does it mean that I have to believe their claims that it actually benefits me as a consumer to be nickled and dimed for everything I'm worth.
I'm surprised they haven't started charging more for seats that recline. Maybe that will be next.
[1]: http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/airfares/programs/economics_and_...
it's cheaper because more and more jobs require constant travel so they have much more of the good predative revenue. for example at work I've never seen a 300 mile trip for less than 350. ever. let alone the la-Chicago for 100 they mention in the article. that would look like a bug in my employee's booking system.
what they get from the rest is just icing.
so, convince yourself of that lie all you want. but the system continues to be awful and inefficient. only the demand changed. to their advantage.