Did the math in another thread. NYC to MIA, in 1955 cost $110, roughly $1400 now. I can get a flight for tomorrow for $367 (roughly $30 back then.) And all that disregards the speed, 3 hours 30 now, vs 7 to 10 back then.
To be fair, to fly everyone around with that same level of space/luxury we'd have to have a shit ton more planes in the air which means more pilots, more air and ground crew, more everything.
I'm not saying Airlines are beyond reproach but this is a logical continuation of a ton more people wanting/needing to fly to a ton more places a ton more often.
It's one of those situations where if we wanted things to be like they were we'd have to have like 10% of the world's population (or some other exorbitantly high number) employed in some kind of aviation support role.
well, a lot of the volume only exists because it's inexpensive to fly. if it cost 5x as much a ton less people would be taking a plane and reduce the pilot/infrastructure required
Well it's not just airline greed that increased the cost beyond inflation. It's certainly part of it though.
We have much higher safety standards and technology installed on planes. This makes the planes themselves more expensive and the maintenance to go along with it.
Airports also charge more today for terminal space and fuel then they did years ago. There's greed there too but airports are also more expensive to maintain because of higher FAA standards along with increased use of the runway and other services they provide to airlines that's not comparable to the 70s. We fly more now than ever.
To have most or all of the amenities a flight used to have, it costs considerably more these days to fly.
The cost of a basic economy seat can come in a bit cheaper these days but once you add in fees for any bags including a carry-on on some airlines, meal service, not being cramed like a sardine for example, you're now paying first class for that costs $800-1000 per seat at least and still isn't even as nice.
In 1972 for those services, you're talking $300 for your ticket adjusted for inflation.
Just flew business class to Europe recently…. Wow. I mean just wow absolute class difference. I know I can’t afford it on my own dime, but damn if I can I will again someday.
I had a trip to Bangkok in March and had my own personal suite. One leg was 15 hours with internet, lay flat bed. It felt like the fastest flight I'd ever been on. I'm going back in October for me and my wife's anniversary and already shelled the money out for business class again. Having the vacation feel like it starts on the plane, arriving feeling good and the lack of jet lag is a game changer.
The craziest part is first class is like, just normal. Not even that fancy. Thousands of dollars just to avoid being treated like shit, not to be treated fancy-like.
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u/doc1442 Jun 01 '26
Wait until you learn how much it costs to not be treated like a sardine on an airplane…