Cheap Flyers Have Ruined Air Travel

Rant incoming!

Since airline deregulation hit in the early 1980s, airlines have been able to compete on price in a way they weren’t allowed to before. Low-cost carriers like Southwest popped up offering cheaper fares, if one is willing to forego some of the niceties of airline travel. Since then, airline seats have gotten smaller as airlines have sought to stuff more people into less space and and the services on board have continued to decrease. Why is this? So people can fly to where they want to go for less. And that is ruining air travel.

Flights for 50p

This hilarious video summarizes the attitude towards cheap travel. The flights for 50p is a riff on a Ryanair offer putting up fares for basically 50 cents. However, by the time you add on all the charges and such you were paying far more than 50p. American low-cost travel isn’t quite as bad as some of the European airlines but the charges and sacrifices can get pretty crazy. Checked luggage is now charged (didn’t used to be that way) and some airlines are offering ultra-low-cost fares where they are even charging for carry-ons. What is the point of travel if you can’t bring your stuff with you? What if you are traveling for a long time or have children? What if you are going to do something that requires equipment? You have to pay, pay, and pay again. Take meal service for example, that used to be included. That’s right younger readers, airlines used to give you food. No more, food is at a cost unless you’re flying first class. These days, if you’re lucky, you’ll get soda and not even the whole can. At least water is still free, as long as it doesn’t come in a bottle. And let’s also talk about the actual seat. Lets consider the airline seat.

Does that looks like a comfortable airline seat to you? I own pillows with more padding. I think cheap office furniture is doing better honestly. Seats used to be thick, the cushions were used as flotation devices. No more. Now its cheap jump seats in economy. If you want to sit in something decent better try first class. The last time I was in first class, that seat wasn’t that great either. Some airlines are skipping the screens in the back of the seat and opting to give out iPads instead. Why other everyone with a screen when only those who didn’t bother to bring their own devices would want one?

People are Damn Cheap

Is there an airline that can get me to Europe for $50?

A truly awful comment left on Reddit about cheap air travel

That quote summarizes the attitude most people have towards air travel. Air travel is no longer special or unique. It’s basically a sky bus (an airbus if you will!) that is supposed to cheaply and quickly, with no fanfare whisk people around the country and the globe for as cheap as possible. Any idea that air travel is elite, glamorous, respectable, or exclusive is long gone as every airline makes competition a race to bottom on price. Why would anyone think that you can travel from the United States to Europe for $50? If $50 is all you can afford for air fare, you probably can’t afford to stay in Europe. That’s not being mean or anything, it’s just the truth. Europe is not cheap, unlike southeast asia. This expectation that everything has to be cheap is ruining everything, including fashion, but I’ll stick to air travel for now.

Travel is expensive. I’ve not made much money in this life and I’ve been lucky to travel as much as I have. But travel isn’t cheap. For most of human history, people didn’t leave their town and the 5 miles surrounding it. If people went to a major city once or twice in their life it was a big moment for them. Now, things have become so convenient that people are expecting to travel the world for nothing. It’s absurd. At this point, I’d like to see air travel reduced and more people take ships. It’s better for the climate anyway.

Travel Used to Be Glamorous

At one time, travel was glamorous. The seats were roomy, you could smoke on airplanes (let’s not bring that back), and food was good and included. First-class included champagne, economy didn’t have the champagne wasn’t awful to travel in. The human element was everywhere you looked.

The only airlines offering the kind of travel that should be standard are Emirates, Qatar, and other gulf state airlines supported heavily by their national governments. American and European airlines just aren’t what they used to be, and that has been driven by market demand thanks to cheap flyers. Don’t get me started with pajamas at the airport. I did have a look the other day at the private jet cost to buy a flight, because I feel like that will give me the experience I really want.

Now, instead of greeting a desk agent at the airport, you get a kiosk. When I was in Iceland, they didn’t even take your bag, there was a machine, and you had to heft it on top. The machine weighed it and measured it, and when the light turned green, your bag would disappear. Air travel isn’t special; its mass transit but on wings. Business class, the nice in-between class, has been sacrificed for premium economy on all but the most popular flights. Pilots and Flight Attendants aren’t paid what they used to be either. Because more people want to fly direct, planes are getting smaller and more efficient so that flights take place between cities rather than through hubs. The only airlines offering the kind of travel that should be standard are Emirates, Qatar, and other gulf state airlines supported heavily by their national governments. American and European airlines just aren’t what they used to be, and that has been driven by market demand thanks to cheap flyers. Don’t get me started with pajamas at the airport.

The Age of Cheap Flights

Economic reports state that we are in a golden age of cheap flying. That’s good for the consumer, but at what cost? Why does flying have to be the mass transit of the air? There are other options to get around, particularly within the United States. Air travel needs to get back to the service and conveniences that it used to have. It might make it more expensive but I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. Rather than chase the bottom of price, why not compete on actual service, on-time flights, better airports, and a clean, modern airliner. Why not compete on destinations and ease of travel both to and from the airport? Cheap air travel is ruining flying altogether and if you need proof, just look around the next time you fly. Air travel has gone from a glamorous and modern experience to 100-200 people crammed into a tin can with engines attached. It’s sad and it needs to change.