I would assume these margins get even thinner and customer service even worse in the future as most people really do just go to a referral site, grab the cheapest flight and call it a day (I mean honestly, where I'm currently at in life, I don't need comfort on a flight, I just need to get from point a to point b as cheaply as possible and I assume this applies to 80% of people flying).
I was just on a Frontier flight a few months ago where nothing but water was free and they were being EXTREMELY strict about carry on size, which produced probably a dozen or so more $25 bag checking fees from people boarding. I have to expect these fees will only continue to grow in order to make up for lost profits on the original sale
I'm not looking forward to it. Flying has already gotten devilishly uncomfortable (my knees run into the seat in front of me) and while I would pay for a little bit more comfort, I can't figure out whether it's just impossible to find such airlines/seats, or if they just don't exist on the trips I make.
Pretty much every airline offers exit row seats for something like $25 more or an "Economy Plus" that's a step up from economy but far from first class.
The big question is if there'll be a backlash to the no-services nickel-and-dime-fees style airline business.
I suspect that the U.S. market will continue the race to the bottom, but elsewhere quality will continue to thrive.
Scandinavian Airlines' advertising is currently all about: "luggage: free. card fees: zero, online checkin, assigned seating: free, coffee, newspaper: free, breakfast on board: free, canceling fee: waived within 24 hrs" to capitalize on the passengers who have been burned by picking the cheapest option.
Also meanwhile in Asia, I don't think any of my flight searches have ever turned up Singapore Airlines as the cheapest, yet they're doing amazingly well.
I think people are beginning to realize that at the end of the day it costs a certain amount of money to get a plane from A to B and you can pay upfront on BA or have it weaseled out of you on Ryanair. Even Michael O'Leary (Ryanair CEO) is starting to tone it down. E.g. if you paid by card, Ryanair would charge you the card fee not per payment, but per ticket and per leg, so a group of 4, return flights booked together in one payment, would pay 8x the card processing fee. Oh, and there's no way not to pay by card, did I mention? Whereas on BA the card fee is 0, and you can pay cash at the desk if you really want to!
Among the western nations, at least, passengers claim to ant all sorts of amenities -- checked bags, in-flight food and entertainment, etc. -- but all of those claims go out the window when presented with the price tag, which is ultimately the driving force.
The logical result of that is unbundling of all of those bits, such that you can get a bare-bones "just fly me from A to B" fare and then anything on top of it is charged as a separate fee. And that is overwhelmingly the fare people choose, because it's the cheapest one.
There are some airlines bucking that trend, many in Asia or the middle east, and one or two in the western world. But mostly the way they do that is by distinguishing themselves to international business travelers, who are far less price-sensitive than vacationing families.
I go years between flights, so I haven't looked into this, but I've been wondering recently if it would make sense to ship (UPS, FedEx) your luggage ahead of time. Since the airlines are making big profits on luggage fees and penalties, I'm guessing shipping price wouldn't be that much more. What you'd gain is (I assume) more reliable delivery, and the opportunity to know that your luggage arrived before you get there, as opposed to wondering if it will get there, and operating without it worst case.
Generally speaking, For domestic flights, one bag, up to 50 lbs costs $25. International flights will get you 1 free checked bag.
I've thought of this as well. It's actually not very practical. Check out UPS shipping fees. Except in very edge cases, they are way more expensive than taking your bag with you.
I was just on a Frontier flight a few months ago where nothing but water was free and they were being EXTREMELY strict about carry on size, which produced probably a dozen or so more $25 bag checking fees from people boarding. I have to expect these fees will only continue to grow in order to make up for lost profits on the original sale