To think that airlines need a complete overhaul, and more regulation?

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

The amount of money theyre charging for flights, where youre sat in a teeny seat and offered a crap meal ..

Other industries have improved their offerings, but airlines continue to operate to the same crappy standards

More seat space should be given as standard. Forcing people to sit in a tiny seat for 8 hours at a time is awful and must have awful effects on the human body?!

WiFi should be free, as its practically a human right atp.

Food should be of a better standard

Where can people lobby for change?!

The car industry - improved comfort
The underground - massively improved conditions
The nhs - accessible website and apps full of info

Airlines - nothing

The above arent perfect obvs but airlines are ridiculous

How much do you want to pay to go flying?

Once upon a time the legacy airlines generally offered a vaguely decent product at a price...

Then the LoCos came along with a more minimalistic product and cheaper tickets.

So for a while there was a choice, and what happened was that many passengers usually migrated to the LoCos and in order to stay on business the legacy airlines had to follow thedownwards spiral in order to stay in business.

I know this because I saw this first hand since I worked at a legacy airline for many years.

Fundamentally these days many passengers prime consideration when booking a flight is price......

They hardly make any profit though, something like £3-£8 per passenger. I don’t think they could make it any more luxurious without increasing prices substantially

There's no human right to air travel. You can chose to fly at any price point. If you don't want to travel cheaply in cramped seats, pay for premium, business or first. It's a choice. Nobody is forcing you to sit in a cramped seat for 8 hours.

Dependant on route, upgrade, fly business class @mumofoneAloneandwell

Choose to fly to places where this is offered, that way you can choose your much wanted better offer.

Really? 😯

People are happy in large numbers to fly with Ryanair and be treated like dirt, because they believe they are making a saving (and in some cases they are). People are prepared to buy poor quality clothing at places like Primark.

Almost all air travel is a luxury, so why would government want to agree new regulations which would have to be agreed with other countries.

I'd like to see the kind of things the OP thinks should be part of flying, but it is not going to happen.

I fly with JAL when I go to Japan.

The food is decent, seats are wider, legroom is reasonable, choosing your seat is free as standard and you get an hour of free WiFi on each device.

Most people will opt for cheaper airlines instead though.

I love JAL, but generally pay a bit more than we would if flying direct with BA and a lot more than we would if flying with a Chinese airline.

The airline industry massively increased coverage and affordability for many routes. That's not nothing.

You have the following options

Book an extra legroom seat
Book business/first class seat
Book with a luxury airline or charter your own

All cost money...but sorts your complaint

Basically all short haul fights are a bus ride in the air. Accept that reality and you will realise it's not that bad.

Or don't fly, you don't actually need to fly it's a choice that you make because you have the money to do so

I am old enough to remember paying several hundred pounds to fly to Paris and the same several hundred pounds to fly back. I’m more than happy to get to Paris and back for less than 100 pounds today

Really? I cant believe that that would be true

Flying to America for example is extortionate

Who can afford to pay business class costs?

This is like saying

You dont have to take the shit train service

You can walk. Skip. Grow wings and fly.

Yabu

Really. The costs of a flight from the UK to most European destinations is now about the same as it was 30 years ago. Margins are tiny.

Then fly at a different time of year. Or fly via Iceland. Or go to a small city instead of New York. You have choices

To get to my Uk uni from Ireland in the 90’s was probably anything from 150 -225 pounds. My child pays about £40 for the same flights today and far more options on times. Thats improvement

No i dont 😄

I am a nornal person who deserves to be able to travel

Airlines need to make adjustments. No way are they not profiteering from their hostile flying conditions

Ultimately the cost is what they can charge and still attract customers - and that’s capitalism!

I do think some regulation over how fares are presented wouldn’t go amiss though. It’s a nightmare trying to compare fares across different airlines.

The price is, although the conditions still need improving. That said, for short haul flights, you can cope being cooped up on the plane for that amount of time i suppose

"It has the fifth highest net income of all airlines worldwide. In 2025, the company sold 208 million airline tickets, with average total revenue of €70 per ticket sold, compared to average total costs of €62 per ticket sold"

That's Ryanair. €8 profit per ticket. What do you think would happen costs if they were to have less seats so you could be more comfortable?

I dont find economy for short haul particularly 'cooped up' on any airline. Also food...if you can't cope short haul without eating you might want to look into that or, just take your own snacks.

Yes that profit figure is about right...

Something like sub €10 profit per average passenger across the year is not unusual at many airlines (you can get a rough number yourself from the financial statements)

Remember (?) low season on many routes many passengers are being carried at below cost...

From an International Air Transport Association paper from end of 2025

"Net profit per passenger transported is expected to be $7.90 (below the 2023 high of $8.50, and unchanged from 2025)"

www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-releases/2025-12-09-01/

I honestly don’t really mind the flying conditions. It is simply a seat to get you where you want to go. They can’t make seats bigger without removing any and I don’t really want to pay more. I’d rather save that money for my destination. Don’t quite understand what your issue is.

Air travel is more affordable now that it was 20 years ago, however passenger comforts has been reduced, particularly in economy. Remember, the airline industry lost $180 billion during the pandemic. They make, as PP says, on average $7.80 per passenger. It has paper thin margins, and now of course we have record high fuel prices.