Remember when you could fly standby for half price?

I was digging through old files last week and found a ticket stub from 1998. Denver to Chicago for 89 dollars, and that wasn't even a sale price. Now you can barely get from the terminal to the gate for that amount. The airline deregulation in the 80s started the low fare wars, but the mergers in the 2000s killed most of those deals. Anyone else miss when a walk up ticket didn't cost more than a used car payment?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_julia1mo ago

So are we paying for convenience or for the airline's stock buybacks now?

jamie_price1mo ago

You said "stock buybacks" like it's some big scandal, but honestly, most people booking a flight just want to know if the seat is cheap and if they get a bag. I get that buybacks can feel slimy, but airlines have been doing them for years and it didn't suddenly make the basic economy experience worse. Are we really acting like the guy in the middle seat three rows back is thinking about shareholder returns when he pays for his carry on?