Why do we put up with this crap?

Someone clearly doesn't understand how much it used to cost to travel by plane 50 years ago.

Airliner ticket prices used to be regulated. So when all airlines had to charge the same price, they had to find other ways to be competitive in order to bring in customers. Deregulation in the 70s brought ticket costs down but that means ticket cost is now the primary point of competition between airlines and amenities now come at a steep premium.

This is the sort of weird back in the day post that doesn't make sense. Boomers not understanding house prices and minimum wage, that is true.

This plane ticket stuff is wrong. For about the same cost as a ticket back in the day you get way more. In 1955, a one way transatlantic flight was roughly £5k. That's $6.3k freedom dollars, one way. You can today buy a ticket on that type of route for half that price that includes a lie flat bed, amenities and pyjamas, 2 hot meals, unlimited snacks, unlimited drinks, lounge access on departure and arrival, priority check-in, boarding an ungodly amount of luggage, etc. And in the lounges you get free food cooked to order, free unlimited drinks, free second tier food like buffets, etc.

If you want to spend the equivalent money or a bit more, you could fly even better. You can have a private chef onboard making a meal for you anytime you want. You can take a shower in the sky. You can have a literal bedroom and attached private living room in a mini suite just for you. And that's flying commercial.

The other side of it is that now people can also buy a ticket for $25. Which would be completely unfathomable back when civil rights weren't a thing.

Cheaper innit.

The people in the top picture still fly like that.
The people in the bottom picture couldn't afford to fly at all in the past.

We are too reliant on air travel as it is. With the advent of the internet we should reduce air travel down to permitted leisure/visiting family and migration. Businesses should be able to video confernce most transactions. The situations where you absolutely need on site representation can be reduced drastically.

That is, if you took climate change seriously.

It can be extremely luxurious if you pay.

I'd rather get to my destination with my wallet still in tact, but you do you.

So I remember taking a flight 10 years ago and they gave us pretzel pieces from snyders. I thought, great, we don't even get whole pretzels...

Next flight, they give us generic "trail mix" in clear bags. The kind the old folks down the street would give out at Halloween because it was "healthy." but that contained approximately 2 pretzels the size of quarters, 3 peanuts, 3 generic m&ms, and 2 raisins...

It gave me the impression that airlines are like schools, where the flight staff are the ones bringing in the snacks because the airline is too cheap to supply them.

Airlines were not more luxurious 50 years ago.

You had more legroom and the TSA didn't exist, but everything else was way worse.

Eh, if you're looking for the cheapest ticket available you can't really expect luxury. Airlines are competing with prices, so all luxury goes off the window like a passenger on a Boeing flight

Cuz first class used to be the only class.

Because our children’s children will still be paying the tab for that unsustainable opulence. Fuck they’ll be paying the bill for recreational air travel with only pretzels.

The amount of people who think flying is a normal thing. One percent of the worlds population produce 50% of aviation emissions. And most off the worlds population never fly in their life.

Stupid. The cost for flights then was more like beyond first class prices now.

Because you always buy the cheaper seats. It's not your fault, I do the same. Flying was literally for the wealthiest of people at that point in history, it was literally a luxury to fly instead of taking a train, bus, or a boat.

Indeed, I do prefer a can of cola, some pretzels and five crisp hundred dollar notes.

• That tray table is WAYYYYY too big and luxurious - they have shrunk legroom so dramatically now that you get a little sliver about the width of your shoe.
• That cup is about double the size they give now.
• You didn't get to pick those pretzels, there was just the single "choice" now.
• Also, you didn't get to pick that seat and you had to have last minute anxiety that you wouldn't even be assigned a seat by the gate agent at the airport (after already taking time off from work to travel and committing $100+ for uber or airport parking)
• You also paid at least an extra $100 to have a carryon bag (more depending on your route) and even more for a checked bag.
• your seatback no longer has a screen in it. You have to submit to letting airline gorge on your personal data by granting permissions to run entertainment from your own phone and drain your battery.
• Also, though they removed screen and expect you to use your own device, no viable phone holder provided to put your phone in a proper viewing position, so you'll crane and hurt your neck throughout flight.
• Also, your base airline ticket is now more expensive than in the past baggie all these upcharges and compromises.
• shitty rental car at your destination now costs $100/day and parking at your hotel is not free, and is in fact $30-$50 additional per night.
• And your garbage hotel room costs 3X what it should.

You COULD be paying for first class seats and getting that kind of treatment, but you're flying Economy, aren't you.

You guys get snacks?

With Ryanair I’m thankful that they have to offer a seat.

Look at Mr. Moneybags over here, getting a drink that's not water.

Please just let me recline a bit more.

Because what are you gonna do? Take a boat to cross the Atlantic? Like you're some puritan running from Anglicanism?

Meanwhile, me aboard a train: "Oh you can get whole massive meals on restaurant cars these days? No thank you, I'll get a coffee and one of those overpriced naff sandwiches." (Well, the Finnish train sandwiches are pretty good, but they are hella overpriced. Like 7€. WTF.)

My father's generation thought planes would just get faster and faster and by now we'd be able to fly from NYC to Tokyo in 40 minutes

Because Americans have no class consciousness

And the “free” pretzels are also sponsored with an ad on the packaging.

Ship travel in the age of sail was more accommodating. At least you can walk around and shit.

capitalism. next question?

actually, don't bother! just assume the answer to why things suck is always capitalism unless you find hard evidence to the contrary.

this post seems kinda bourgeoisie to me. i literally don't give a fuck because we have way bigger problems. if you're here to removed about the amenities on an airline flight, well, i guess that must be a nice problem to have.

They used to be also fascinated by plastic.

I bet their smiles would not last long realizing that the 5g bag of pretzels has 2g of plastic (and that's just the tip of the plastiberg).

Well for me it was money, I flew Spirit

Because we don't own the means of production.

Look at you, flying on rich planes with that much space in front of you

One word: "Greed"

Don't forget that enshittification creeps into the real world as well

As far as I know, economy seats are still sold at a loss. They make up for it in the higher classes. I don't fly through Doha often but when I do, I do like getting on Qatar Airways.

That is unless you are in head class

To be fair, the soda bubbles are extra Lucious at 30k feet.

prices are higher, quality is lower.

That won't change until they're forced to change

Good old airlines and their ideal business model:

Charge you like you're flying on Concorde.

Treat you like you're on a 16th century slaving ship.

Fly with turkish airlines. Business is heaven, but even economy food is good.

I don't usually want to eat too much on flights. Especially with the toilet situation being what it is.

I mean, in the 1950's, the planes with all the fancy food and service were basically full first class flights... to return to that weed have to have single class/first class flights and the prices to match.

Singapore air? Isn't there an airline with couches and sleeping quarters? 0/10 I hate chu

Yeah but at least the quality of service has went from smiling attractive courteous flight attendants to snarling aisle donkeys.