Originally Posted by
Lack
That could be a true if the light fares actually delivered on that promise on a lower price, which is not the case.
In real terms, air fares are at historic lows. That side of the equation is often forgotten when discussing airlines' "enhancements".
After all, the gain you have from buying a good or a service is the utility you get from consuming it
minus what you must give up to get it.
Not quite sure why people sometimes ignore the second part. Maybe they just like to complain. I've seen bizarre forum discussions around this. Sometimes, when you bring up ticket prices, people respond with red herring arguments about that great deal they were able to score on tickets back in the day (which is besides the point, as average/median/typical ticket prices have come down substantially).
On a different note, reductions in the quality of the service (such a no more free meals or no free checked bags) are not the whole story, either. Where I live (FRA), today I can choose from many more direct routes than, say, 10 or 20 years ago. Not having to use connecting flights is a huge quality improvement for me personally. As are online check-in options (no more dreaded lines at the check-in counter when flying Y).