Someone did a focus group awhile back about all the nice things an airline could do. And everyone was really excited about all the niceties that were on offer.
But then they asked everyone to raise their hands and to pull them down once they were no longer willing to pay that much.
At around $30 extra, over half the people had put down their hands. At $50, all but one.
For whatever reason, people de facto hate paying trivial amounts extra even in exchange for significant improvements. That's why we end up with really shitty flight experiences.
I just booked a couple of flights from Europe to Asia, and it took a while to find the sort of low prices I've paid in previous years. It turned out that half the ticket price was for airport fees and taxes, so the airline was charging more and getting less.
Same here. Just bought tickets for SF -> NY -> London and back, and no matter how you slice it, you're paying a $500 "crossing the Atlantic" fee. SF -> NY hovers around $300-$350, but good luck finding a flight from NY -> UK for less than $1000, even though the flight is only 30% longer.
I've been planning a trip to Europe and flights to Heathrow and Barcelona from Tucson are < $1000 until Mid may. However, they all go through Atlanta or Houston instead of NY. Maybe it's a NY->UK premium? Strangely, the same flights direct from Houston or ATL to London are more than the ones from Tucson with layovers.
Those "fuel surcharges" that add up to hundreds of dollars are imposed and collected by the airlines themselves. It's just another way for them to price their tickets.
Someone did a focus group awhile back about all the nice things an airline could do. And everyone was really excited about all the niceties that were on offer.
But then they asked everyone to raise their hands and to pull them down once they were no longer willing to pay that much.
At around $30 extra, over half the people had put down their hands. At $50, all but one.
For whatever reason, people de facto hate paying trivial amounts extra even in exchange for significant improvements. That's why we end up with really shitty flight experiences.