06-05-2024, 08:04 PM
"Those were the days". One of the reasons why air travel was so glamorous was that the government set the fares, routes, etc and few 'common folk' could easily afford them. Since the airlines weren't competing on price, they competed on service. When I was a kid, our family went to Europe twice (my mother is from there) and the airfare was so expensive my parents had to work second jobs to save up for it. They also had to pull us out of school early those years because the summer fares were significantly higher than the "off season" rates available a few weeks prior. We also drove past the international airport in our home state to one some distance in another state to eliminate a leg of travel.
After deregulation, they didn't immediately descend to cattle cars... but here we are. More people can afford to fly and more people don't want to do it. I recently read that the average *profit* an airline earns per passenger per flight is between $6.00 and $20.00. They have to make their money on volume.
After deregulation, they didn't immediately descend to cattle cars... but here we are. More people can afford to fly and more people don't want to do it. I recently read that the average *profit* an airline earns per passenger per flight is between $6.00 and $20.00. They have to make their money on volume.