Hi tkc,
Well, you've got me. What about value isn't the balance between price and quality?
What I am saying is that as airlines compete on the basis of price, which they do, they achieve what appear to be reductions in price by supplying a product whose quality is reduced.
Once they've won your business by discounting their prices, they then try to add them back on as options when you reach the plane. Oh, you need room for your legs? Gotta pay extra for an aisle seat. Oh, you want to have room for your overhead luggage? Gotta pay to get on the plane first. Oh, you want to watch a movie? Gotta pay for the head phones. Oh, you want a drink? Gotta pay airline prices for a small glass of this or that.
At the same time, because they all offer the same miserable service, they seek to extract your loyalty by providing you with airline miles. All that achieves is to increase prices on average for everyone so that those who fly frequently can get a cheap/free holiday ticket. A proxy for quality? Not really.
A ticket used to be a ticket. Now it is a sentence.
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