Originally Posted by
subject2load
Interesting comments there paule23, and I fully understand the general point you make.
Just to clarify my own post a little .....the friend I mentioned DOES spend money, he is definitely no miser - in fact he spends big time. Far more than I ever will be able to. He is very generous and hospitable. It's just that he doesn't see the point of buying a larger seat which takes you to exactly the same place as the cheaper ones. And in all honesty, I do come across many people who could very comfortably afford the front of the plane, but who - for whatever reason - just don't consider it important within the context of all their other expenditure.
I often wonder what a psychologist would make of it all .......
They would refer to research that shows that money habits are dominantly formed through childhood
From the point of view of the hospitality industry, there's no right or wrong answer - travel (and entertainment) is the ultimate discretionary spend and you start off from that basis when figuring out what people will pay for, and what they absolutely won't pay for. Cultural background and especially people's wealth journey (a euphemism for, how quickly did they become rich, and start off from the base line that people who are newly rich like to spend it) lets you tailor your product to the markets you serve. But never make the mistake that everyone in the same market thinks the same - I know lots of old money Europeans who love the EK bling
Then again, I don't actually think the EK cabin is that bling - faux gold and wood doesn't count when you see some of the really "bling" stuff out there when you work in hospitality, so perhaps I have a different yardstick!
I also know people such as this - comfortable 9 figure net worth, always flies Y from Asia to the US. Always. He justifies this by saying the people in Y are more interesting
The rest of his family like to fly J as F is "too extravagant". And then on the other hand, there are those people who always save up for J or F on their once a year trip. Neither is wrong and neither is anything in between, when it comes to air travel, simply one's views on what is important. One person's "wastefulness" is another's "luxury".