these guys used to be daring adventurers with goggles and swag and now the pilots have to wear a button down and the airlines squeeze every penny out of you and every drop of fun or joy or magic or adventure out of the experience.
in the 20s it was a great adventure! in the 60s people wore suits and got proper meals! now we just get xrayed and told we can’t bring in water! i love starting my vacation being treated as a terrorist!
Now compare what flying in the 60’s cost to what it costs today. If you want some magical luxury experience, you can fly First Class and get a comfortable seat with extra amenities and preferential treatment, but you’re still just buying the cheap tickets aren’t you.
Yes, the airline is squeezing every penny they can out of everything they can, and they’re doing it because consumers are dramatically more sensitive to price than quality. When you look at the booking selection and the available flights are all more or less going to get the job done, you and just about everyone else will pick the one that costs $20 less, completely ignoring the First Class option that costs $800+ more. It’s why everything seems to be shitty and cheap these days, quality goods and experiences still exist, but we don’t pay for quality when the economy option costs a third as much.
I counter this perspective with the fact that quality doesn’t improve proportionally with the price. You pay more and get Incrementally less. That’s actually not directly the consumers fault. If you paid two thirds more but got 150% more, then it would be worth it. But the only way to do that is probably to reduce the quality of the cheaper seats.