No, but you were not giving your services away either.
The sad truth is airlines were selling seats for under what it costs to fly for years and were loosing money. That model had to change.
+1
For the record and all the disbelief, airline prices are not outrageous; they are normalizing! What was outrageous were the low airfares, which caused the consolidation of the legacy carriers (resulting in fewer flights), the breakout of baggage, meal, and other fees (higher overall travel costs), and the expectations that these low prices would remain.
Now, fares are returning to where they should have been in the first place had Southwest (WN) and other low-cost carrier entered the market and introduced crazy low fares in an attempt to grab market share. This market share grab did work (look at all the WN fanboys on here), but now they don't need to attract your loyalty. Thus, their fares are equal (or in some cases higher) than the legacy airlines, and the overall result is no included amenities (bags, food etc) and price increases back to pre-2000 levels (based on inflation and time-value of the dollar).
No need to be surprised, and expect prices to continue to increase before they settle into their rightful place. It is likely airlines may return to their "special" status in travel instead of being an "air bus", which I think would be great. It will herald back the family road trip vice flying.
To summarize, airfares are normalizing to where they should be in the first place. We've had a good ride through the new millennium, but expect top the prices increase further until they reach their tipping point and fall slightly before settling into the true levels.
... I would assume most folks would pick their seat, when its no additional cost, at the time their tickets are purchased as there is no benefit to waiting.
Just to add, this is where the argument falls short. You
assume human behavior based on an extrapolation of your own behavior patterns and a piece of electronic information. OCC is telling you the electronic information is inaccurate, based on information collected from frequent fliers (ie those who know the game of airfare bookings very well).
Seat maps are provided and updated by the same IT systems that change airfare prices hourly, which weakens the argument that the seat maps are updated properly. Also, many people purchase tickets through travel agents, both online and in person. The agent may not assign a seat, even if it is possible, and the ticket purchaser may not know to pre-assign their own seat.
Assumptions are very useful, but can not be relied upon if counter arguments are made based on experience.
you SW
