[KevinTodd]

Originally Posted by jeff higgins

i think too many have lost all perspective on the sheer marvel of going to places like, say, lima, peru in somewhat less than a full day's travel. We have been well and truly spoiled by the sheer convenience, reliability, and low cost of modern day travel. Just before our time, traveling to such distant lands was a far, far more strenuous, arduous, and downright dangerous endeavor. We have well and truly lost sight of that.

The traveling public refuses to pay what the caliber of air travel they demand should really cost. I wonder how many of those travelers bought some cut-rate $800 round trip airfare to get to lima. Just imagine the real cost of going overland, or by sea, both in monetary expenditures and in sheer time. Thousands and thousands of dollars and several weeks of one's time. And yet for the most convenient, advanced, safest, fastest way to get to places like that, we insist on doing so for the least possible cost.

The airlines are simply meeting market demands. People would rather fly cheap and complain than pay a realistic price for a pleasant experience. Coach seats should, realistically, cost what first class costs today, and first class should be double what it is. Trips to lima should be a very big deal, but the flying public now demands such service accommodate their cheap weekend travel whims. As such, they get what they deserve, and exactly what they paid for.

+1