Yes, I hope I haven't been misunderstood. I don't have a problem wih LCCs, just because I don't want to travel on them doesn't mean I don't think they have a place in the market.
It's just that price as a sole differentiator is always a tenuous marketing platform. Hence the term "price spiral".
And yes, I remember the days of full pricing. I used to cross the Nullarbor every four weeks for five years at a four-figure ticket price. There was no other way. Until Compass 1, etc...
But LCC's also 'keep the bastards honest' - well, about pricing, at least. And their entry into the market ahs forced some economies into the supply chain, and created some new business opportunities along the way.
What seems funny to me though is that some punters front up for their super-deep discounted ticket trips and honestly expect the silver-platter service of the Clipper air travel days. They want to fly to the Gold Coast for the price of a couple of hours wages and expect the same service people used to work for six months to purchase.
These people urgently need to get a life.
"You pays yer money, and you takes yer choice". Live with it.
VH-CU