That $67 Flight May Be More Expensive Than You Think
Robert Grunnah thought he was getting a deal when he found a round-trip flight from Austin, Texas, to Denver for just $67. But as he sat on the delayed flight, watching the overworked agent navigate the overcrowded plane, he wondered: Was his flight too cheap?
“There’s something wrong with that kind of business,” said Grunnah, an Austin real estate developer. “The flight was three hours away, the gate agent was tired and inactive, and the flight was fully booked to the point of discomfort. That $67 ticket informed me that the airline was selling seats to fill the planes and reducing staff and services to an alarming level.”
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Welcome to the dark side of the race to the bottom, where deep discounts come with hidden costs that reduce your experience and harm communities, workers, and the environment.
It’s a complex issue that questions company practices, government policy and the decisions you make as a traveler. But it all makes you wonder if you’re not paying enough for your trip.
The number of people traveling at a low rate
While conventional wisdom suggests that travel is too expensive — and yes, I’ve written about that — a growing group of industry insiders argue the opposite: Travel is dangerously cheap in some cases, and someone else is always paying the real price.
Alexandra Dubakova, the chief marketing officer of a travel operator based in Zürich, Switzerland, recently visited Egypt to see for herself.
“Cheap prices equal cheap lives,” he explained. “In hotels, restaurants, resorts, everyone I met seemed tired and frustrated. But when they looked at an outsider, they changed quickly.
The numbers behind Egypt’s tourism industry tell the story: workers are so poorly paid that they turn to alcoholism. Dubakova recalled a particularly troubling example. In a public toilet, a desperate man stole all the toilet paper and then stood at the door and sold it to visitors.
“It was distracting,” she said.
Cord Thomas, president of a rental management company in Broomfield, Colorado, has seen this shift throughout the tourism industry.
“A number of 20 room cleaners per shift keeps hotel prices low while popular tourist spots turn into crowded souvenirs,” he said. “Buy tourists often fail to realize the labor fatigue and environmental damage caused by their bookings.”
Destruction of nature and culture
The environmental costs of cheap travel go beyond carbon emissions – and leisure travel.
“Frequent fliers are responsible for a lot of aviation emissions,” said Rebecca Thompson, founder and CEO of Sustainable Travel Technologies.
The very cheap prices are difficult to compare with the sustainability issues that many travel companies try to weave.
On the one hand, they greatly reduce their fares and prices; on the other hand, they say they care about the environment by using less sustainable amounts of jet fuel, or by building solar farms, recycling, or growing vegetables behind their hotel. I’ve been covering sustainability for years, and I hear this kind of doublespeak far too often.
Cultural heritage pays an equally high price. Frank Marr, a spokesman for Nueva Vista, a destination management company operating in Armenia’s Caucasus Mountains, sees reduced tourism giving rise to authentic experiences.
“A daily trip can drop below $25, pushing the guides below the local wage,” he said. “Discount crowds flock to Instagram-famous places like Tbilisi’s Old City, while quiet UNESCO treasures – Sheki’s Khan Palace in Azerbaijan or Akhtala Monastery in Armenia – struggle to find savings.”
All you have to do is race to the bottom
Travel industry experts are increasingly realizing that over-indulging in low prices is not possible.
“Low prices tend to hurt any industry when players try to differentiate themselves on price,” explains Denish Shah, a marketing professor at Georgia State University. “Airlines have tried to achieve economies of scale by reducing legroom and reducing the amount and quality of in-flight meals. All of this has come about because of the quality of service and customer experience.”
The reality of “cheap” travel often turns out to be more expensive than advertised.
“Hidden fees can erode trust and create legal and regulatory challenges for airlines and travel companies,” added Eric Napoli, AirHelp’s chief legal officer.
The very low prices may also affect security, according to Bill McGee, executive director at the American Economic Liberties Project. His research shows that airlines cut costs in critical areas to support cheaper fares.
“The mechanic told me that the $99 ticket came with a price,” he said. “And the savings came from outsourcing heavy aircraft maintenance to El Salvador, China, and Singapore – away from the eyes of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
So what is the solution?
The way forward requires fundamental changes in how companies value travel products and how we value those products.
AirHelp’s Napoli said one solution is better price disclosure.
“Airlines and travel companies should be transparent from the start, especially as passengers choose different bag options or services and fees start to pile up,” he said.
Rebecca Thompson of Sustainable Travel Technologies thinks better government policy could fix the problem.
“A tax has been raised on frequent flyers, where travelers pay more as they take more flights,” he said. “This would see polluters pay more for their impact on the environment, while keeping it affordable for most to make their once-a-year journey.”
John William, a travel consultant at Easy Travel and Tour, said prices should reflect the accurate cost of service delivery. Also, many people are willing to pay for a product that benefits society.
“I think that travelers are ready to pay a satisfactory price, as long as they see how it helps sustainable communities, fair labor management, and environmental conservation,” he said.
Of course, the solution ultimately rests with the travelers.
“People should avoid taking short weekend breaks because of cheap airfares,” said Thomas, a vacation rental expert. “Spend your money on a few sensible trips, which will benefit the local community.”
You get what you pay for
Grunnah’s cheap flight wasn’t his only brush with outrageous prices. He was also paying $45 a night for a hotel room that should have cost $180 a night. The experience haunted him long after he paid.
He recalls: “One manned the front desk, checking on guests, answering the phone, and receiving maintenance calls at the same time. “The housekeepers were cleaning the rooms so quickly that hygiene was compromised, and the restaurant was finished by 8 a.m. because management was cutting corners whenever possible. I felt bad about paying so little because I could see the human cost of my low price.”
That case represents a growing awareness among travelers that prices are taking value out of the places they claim to celebrate. Cheapest travel does not democratize the experience. It degrades it, turning destinations into theme parks and workers into props in someone else’s Instagram story.
Bottom line: Maybe we can’t afford these cheap prices.
Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a non-profit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a buyer’s problem, you can find him here or email him at [email protected].
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: That $67 flight may cost more than you think
Reporting by Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY Special / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
