I don’t think it’s about blame… for either side.
The passenger likes the idea of ‘cheap’ basic fares and over the last two decades have generally enjoyed a greater propensity (and affordability) to travel on a wide short haul network, often from their local airport or tarmaced landing strip.
The airline has facilitated that but in return, have created different revenue streams to compensate. The average passenger may not necessarily like this ‘nickel and diming’ but that greater propensity and affordability to fly still comes at a cost.
I must admit, I was disappointed when my carrier went down the larger (standard) cabin bag charge route but operationally, it works.
The same goes for airports. All airlines pay less in real terms for using an airport and as a consequence, they too have had to reorganise their revenue streams in favour of non-aeronautical activity. In return, airlines like FR, EZY, LS, VY et al often provide volume as opposed to a perceived prestigious hub route that might only operate thrice daily.
So yes we might all moan but if we had time travel and went back to the 80’s and mid 90’s where the vast majority of the flying public only flew once a year, and only then on charter, I would hazard a guess, we’d all be more appreciative of the opportunities we have now.