The declining service of airlines

United Airlines has recently announced a new fare structure where perks such as free seat selection, and even overhead bin space will now be available for a fee. It’s no secret that airlines have been making a mint out of ancillary fees. Increased competition from low cost carriers and the travellers desire for the lowest possible fares are driving the established players to adopt a new model to remain profitable. Here we have a look at some of the things that may now cost you money on your next flight.
Seat Selection – even at online check-in
In the past all seats were created equal. Passengers could reserve most seats simply by request, and there was always a wide selection of seats available at the airport. Granted sometimes it meant getting up at an odd hour of day and trying to be first to check in as soon as online check in opened, but there was choice. Now, ever more airlines are making you fork over for the privilege of selecting a seat in advance of the flight. Some like United Airlines and British Airways even going so far as to not give the passengers in the lowest fare classes seat selection at all but just allocating the seats at check-in.
Meals
For many airlines gone are the days of a free meal. Of course, not all flights had a meal service; but this was the first area where airlines started to scale back to reduce costs. Urban legend, or truth: many people can recall the story that shaving a single olive off a salad saved lots of money for the airlines. So now if you want it, you’re going to have to pay for it separately.
Baggage (even some carry-on)
When you buy a plane ticket you are purchasing transportation for yourself from point a to b. airlines used to consider that if you’re flying somewhere you are probably going for an extended period of time and you’ll need to bring more than what can fit in a backpack. So they threw in a suitcase or two of space for you to take clothes. Weight limits have been around for as long as this writer can remember, and going over that meant forking up; but now that first Samsonite in the hold will cost you regardless.
What it boils down to is what is included in the price of your airline ticket. Air fares have dropped and so has the level of service. Splitting out the components of the travel experience are giving consumers a pick and pay menu of what