Correct me if I am wrong, but when these fees showed up, my ticket price did not drop by the same amount, correct? So adding a fee, no matter how much of a "good deal" it is is still a addition to cost.
Yes and no. Airline prices have been dropping in real terms since the 1980s, if not sooner. (Of course, the airline experience has been dropping also.) I recall reading that since about 1960, net profit for the (US domestic) airline industry has been $0. And the history of the airline industry has been bankruptcy, reorganization, lockout, rinse and repeat.
So airline ticket prices have been dropping to the point that airlines don't make money. So the baggage fees, yes, did not cut ticket prices, but ticket prices were arguably too low to begin with.
It would have been better for airlines to honestly increase ticket prices, of course...
So airline ticket prices have been dropping to the point that airlines don't make money. So the baggage fees, yes, did not cut ticket prices, but ticket prices were arguably too low to begin with.
It would have been better for airlines to honestly increase ticket prices, of course...