Increased Airfare May Spell Trouble For Consumers
Recently, airlines have failed to partner up as the had previously done, which may result in a rise in airfares. Prices of airline tickets are expected to rise in order to increase profits to compensate for the amount of money needed to operate and maintain airplanes. Major airlines have already tried to increase ticket prices in this year alone, and it is expected that airlines will increase their fares by 8 to 10 percent this year. Do you think higher ticket prices will result in people using other means of transportation to get from one place to another?
5 comments:
I think that the higher ticket prices may cause people to re-evaluate how much they value their time. Similarly to the example we discussed in class, people may begin to consider the price of the ticket versus the money they could be making if they were working. Although I have never flown, I imagine that one would also have to consider the amount of time it takes to board the plane once you arrive at the terminal. People may begin to consider other modes of transportation if the cost of the ticket is too high and if they feel too much time is being wasted.
With higher ticket prices comes other factors, like time and income. People will begin to think more about this instead of just buying the ticket. The question won't be will the raise in price result in people using alternative transportation. The question will be which do they find value in more or think is a wise decision, to get to where they are going faster, or to keep the money for the ticket and lose the earnings they would have made from alternative traveling. I think that higher ticket prices will not necessarily result in people using other means of transportation. Many people still need to use air travel for business and other personal situations. But I do think higher ticket prices will result in people re-evaluating their choice of air travel.
The increase of air tickets will have some effect on consumers for sure, but I suspect it will not be a big effect. One of the important reasons is that air planes to some extent are irreplaceable. For instance, businessmen will always choose them for the sake of time, and to an overseas destination, people are tend to travel by air instead of by sea, which is both time consuming and not quite safe compared to planes. However, there is no denying that some people will shift to other transportations, such as for a small trip by train or a romantic honeymoon by ships. All in all, I believe the effect will not be a huge one.
I recently just purchased a plane ticket, although another mean of transportation did cross my mind. Traveling by plane is just so easy and fast. I believe that people will consider changing their travel plans, but time is limited. Therefore, higher ticket prices are not going to have a huge effect. People would rather get there faster and go the easy route.
The airline industry may lose some traditional customers to the increased airfares, but I don't believe the industry will experience significant losses. Let's face it, the quickest way to get from New York to California (or any long distance trip) is through the air. Americans have placed a premium on time, and because of this I think people will pay a premium price if it saves them time. So while the airline industry may lose a few customers, the remaining majority will make up for the losses by the increased airfare prices they are willing to pay.
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