Yet people continue to vote their purchasing dollars for too-tight seat spacing - because the cost of roomier seats is for-sure and up-front. Vs. hope springs eternal on the reality that you'll get.
Relying on "voting with dollars" for something like this is not going to work, because that requires an idealized free market.
Air travel is not an idealized free market. Frankly, nearly nothing in our current circumstances even comes close to acting like an idealized free market, because one thing that requires is enough disposable income for all parties that paying more for something preferred is not likely to cause significant financial hardship. (And before anyone says "but it's only an extra $12 for premium economy" or whatever, it's not just this specific choice—it's about the mindset that you have to adopt when your purchasing power is so constrained, to consider every decision and try to be frugal.)
bell-cot|3 years ago
shp0ngle|3 years ago
For some reason business class is often like 5x 6x the economy! Why is there no middle class?
danaris|3 years ago
Air travel is not an idealized free market. Frankly, nearly nothing in our current circumstances even comes close to acting like an idealized free market, because one thing that requires is enough disposable income for all parties that paying more for something preferred is not likely to cause significant financial hardship. (And before anyone says "but it's only an extra $12 for premium economy" or whatever, it's not just this specific choice—it's about the mindset that you have to adopt when your purchasing power is so constrained, to consider every decision and try to be frugal.)