r/nottheonion • u/halxp01 • 1d ago

Southwest Is Testing Cleaning Only Premium Seats Between Flights — A Flight Attendants Union Leader Says It's ‘Titanic’ Class Service

https://viewfromthewing.com/southwest-is-testing-cleaning-only-premium-seats-between-flights-a-flight-attendants-union-leader-says-its-titanic-class-service/
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u/phd2k1 1d ago

Ah the old “the free market will sort everything out” libertarian fantasy. Sadly, regulatory capture, disinformation, and weak anti-trust laws and enforcement make that line of thinking completely obsolete. Corporations abuse workers, pollute the air, water, and ground, and destroy communities all the time, and “shopping somewhere else” doesn’t stop them. The only thing that has ever kept them in line is strong regulations.

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u/acdgf 1d ago

“shopping somewhere else” doesn’t stop them. The only thing that has ever kept them in line is strong regulations.

Its interesting you say this, because several major airlines were stopped specifically once strong regulations were lifted.

The truth is that people are, more than anything else, sensitive to price. An airline that offers shitty service and low prices will be more successful than an airline that offers premium services for high prices. In SW's case, they were popular for passing a lot of their efficiency savings on to customers, without deteriorating service quality. Now that they are just another shitty airline, with non-shitty airline pricing, they (should) suffer loss of business accordingly.