Didn't that model benefit the large carriers by allowing them to treat their customer the same way? Perhaps not to the extent of budget airlines, but it definitely helped move customer experience for all airlines backwards.

Has he considered that maybe not everybody wants to pay for cabin pressurization, and instead prefer cheaper tickets? On shorter hops the resulting hypoxia is often reversible.

So _United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby_ should try visiting Europe; it will blow his mind.

I mean if you knew what you were getting and weren't expecting the normal airline experiance it was great.

In fact I find a lot of the normal airline experiance annoying and preferred Frontier for just being a simple transport from point A to point B without any bs. It felt quicker and more streamlined, with less distracting chatter from flight attendents, less people fussing with their stupid airplane food, and everyone carried less luggage so deplaning was faster. It was great.

I agree with his description of Spirit and Frontier. Ultra budget airlines built around making sure the airline paid the minimum price for everything (like seat cushions) and the customer paid as much as possible (like for a carryon larger than a purse).

But Southwest? Even with the VERY UNFORTUNATE changes they are making around seat reservations, even with that I would vastly rather fly Southwest than those other two - or frankly even United.

Southwest has OK seat size and seats. They ACTUALLY HAVE under-seat storage, unlike (again) United. They have really reasonable policies around re-booking or cancelling flights. They have been to date extremely customer friendly in a way zero other airlines I have flown have been.

Southwest has been the only airline I have been on to really strike a good balance between cost and services.

Like say checking a single bag or say reducing legroom for 50% of the plane so you can make 40% a little roomier and charge for the privilege?

I mean I get his point but it's a little rich for any airline CEO to sit here and not say the entire industry changed to a more-fees model, wait some amount of years and then act like you all didn't coordinate this over time.

[1]The Design of Airline Route Networks [youtube.com]

Also this recent video I found very interesting in how it breaks down the approach to flight routes the 3 maj

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY7cQNx4Hg4

Earlier today we were reading how UA was 'targeting business travelers with higher fares'

So okay they are bundling stuff rather than collecting nickel and dimes.

In some respects that can be a better experience. Like you want to sit down at the restaurant and just enjoy yourself and not make a marginal decision about if you want bread sticks..

That is not UA though, they are instead constructing a byzantine chart of fares and rules so that nobody understands why this trip cost more or less than the last one

Pot. meet kettle [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Who asked Darth Vetter to liberate the living lube tube?

No - of course he's going to claim that the less profitable model is terrible.

Realistically budget airlines always provide what they promise: a seat on an airplane that is going to transport you from one place to another. If that's what you're expecting then it works well - AND the competition helps keep the prices of the non-budget airlines reasonable too.

There are a whole lot of people who straight up would not be able to afford to fly at all without access to budget airlines.

"Trick people, get them to buy, get them to come, and then charge them a whole bunch of fees that they aren't expecting."

This is exactly the model United uses. Here's your price...oh wait, you wanted to bring carry on luggage? That's a bunch extra $$$. ( Like who is travelling without bringing at least a carry-on....?)

Unlike Southwest (was) we let you pick your seat....oh wait there are no seats left at your fare...how about a premium seat which is exactly the same as the basic seat, except costs more. That's more $$$

Then all the other BS around change fees when they eff up, automatically cancelling your flight and rebooking you.

United straight up sux.

I flew Hawaiian Airline recently and it was a freakin' dream. A little bit of food in a meal, comfortable, reasonable sized seats. No B.S. around carry on. Free, high speed, WiFi. United, American, Delta can pound sand. I don't have the guts to fly Spirit...and sounds like Southwest is spiraling downhill for some reason.

Yeah, you don't have to be a budget airline to be [1]crappy. [wikipedia.org]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Breaks_Guitars

He's not wrong, although hasn't United pulled these same shenanigans over the years too? The bigger problem is the TSA. I have not flown in over 20 years because as a US citizen I can't fly within my own country without "papers please". As a former Marine I served to keep this country free. Screw the TSA and their bullshit.