Quote:
Originally Posted by TorqueDog
It gets cheaper and cheaper because you get less and less. I've been flying since I was 4... hell, I remember when people still got dressed up to fly. You used to get a full complimentary meal on a flight in coach, plus the typical peanuts and a drink (soft or alcobev). They used to give you actual headphones (not even earbuds, branded headphones). One checked bag included was the norm, and carry-ons were not something your fare could preclude you from bringing with you -- I mean, you're the one doing all the work.
I get the appeal of the whole à la carte ticketing thing, but let's not pretend flying is just becoming a better and better value, there's definitely been a degradation in the service level you receive to facilitate that, and with all the talk about standing-room seating being introduced next year, the race to the bottom continues.
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Well yeah, that's the point. Sliver's saying that a basic "economy" fare to Berlin in 1995 was the equivalent of $3300, vs. $1300 today... So for that $2000 in savings, you now don't get a full meal, branded headphones, as much baggage, etc... And the general public has spoken that they'll accept that trade-off.
By the same token, you can now fly business class from YYC to Frankfurt for about 10% more than the equivalent of what Sliver paid for economy 30 years ago and I guarantee that business today is better than economy in 1995, even if they had some perks back then (which pale in comparison to today's pods).
So it cost $3k to fly to Europe in relative comfort 30 years ago and you can be enormously comfortable flying to Europe today, if you want to still spend $3k to do so.