Tim Wu, in a recent New Yorker article makes a strong case that most of the things we complain about in travel, and especially air travel—cramped seats, fees for everything, etc.—are due to Wall Street pressure on carriers to squeeze out every cent of profit. As a case in point, he takes the recent decisions of JetBlue’s new management to begin imposing fees they previously proudly didn’t.
On the other hand, Megan McArdle, a Bloomberg News columnist, says Wu is right about how miserable passenger life can be, but blames it not on Wall Street or the airlines, but on us! See her view HERE
I have to disagree with Megan McArdle on this.US Domestic fares and fees have been going up because of less competition in airline fares because of the mergers. The public has few reasonable alternatives.