pinniped

It's not free.

You're paying for that beer, wine, baggage, dinner, AVOD, etc.

If you're a user of all of those elements, then certainly it makes sense to you for all passengers on the plane to be forced to buy them. The non-users of those elements are subsidizing your use.

We can debate the pros and cons of unbundling, but thinking that the food and drink are "free" is a fallacy.

I fall in the middle I suppose. I place little value on airfood or a lukewarm Miller Lite onboard, so I'm fine with them being unbundled. But I'm a heavy user of frequent-flier miles, so I'm glad that those are bundled and I'm thrilled that most of the other passengers are subsidizing my use of miles by either (a) not signing up for the program, (b) letting their miles expire, or (c) redeeming them for really lame awards.

But no question about it, I'm paying for the miles...I just hope and aspire to get more out of them than I paid for them.

newaarondavidson

It is not a dying breed. It will continue to provide fewer and fewer services as airlines look to increase revenue. What you will see is more Economy+ for an extra fee you will have added services.

chollie

It would be interesting to see the numbers on short routes. There are business travelers and leisure travelers with time who post that they prefer to drive anywhere <500 miles to avoid the overall hassle of airport security, time, uncomfortable flights. Amtrak ridership is climbing on certain routes.

On the longer routes, we're nowhere near hitting the bottom yet, IMHO. The fact is, no one is going to drive or take the train trans-con to avoid the hassles of flying Y and the airlines know it.

It surprises me that so many airlines still have full galleys in the rear of the plane. Seems like there must be a way to take advantage of at least some of that space to put more seats in.

TravelerMSY

The quality of airline coverage by mainstream media seems poor and getting worse. A 5 minute phone interview or perusal of Gary Leff's blog would have been a good idea before writing this one.

harvyk

I don't use all those extra's each flight either (it's been nearly a year since I've last checked in a bag, when I travel solo I tend to do hand luggage only), but it is nice to know that they are there if I feel like it or need it and that I won't need to get my wallet out to get a coke or two.

With "unbundling" I've noticed that most airlines which are proponents of it have simply started removing features from their fares without reducing the airfares in kind. When they have reduced the airfares if you want to get the same level of service as pre-unbundling, the costs are much higher once you add on the base fare + baggage + meal + drink + IFE...

It's just I prefer to be told upfront "what you are expecting will cost $x, and that's all you'll spend"

Cloudship

My question is how much does it cost for that extra "unbundling"? There is a cost to having to handle all that cash on board, time, the extra staff needed on the ground to handle the baggage, the extra time needed for dealing with all those carry-ons... And how much bad will does the forcing a passenger to have to ship their luggage in cargo to their final destination because there is no more room on board? How much ill will is generated because the customer feels like they are being fleeced on overpriced drinks and luggage costs?

Now how much do you really save in costs on that meal? Did that cost a hundred per passenger? If not why do you think the passenger would be willing to pay a $100 more for a bad sandwich? It's more than just that they offer something or charge for something. There are a lot more factors that go into it.

Annalisa12

I'd happy pay for economy plus for extra value, but not when the extra value often costs an extra AUD$2000 on Australian departures. I don't believe there is an extra 2k of value given for EP.