* * * * *
                                        
                     How much service can you get for $700?
                                        
Speaking of inflation [1], when Mom and I moved here to South Florida, no
longer could my Grandma (Dad's mom) drive drive and pick me up for a summer
spent in the suburbs of Detroit [2]. So starting in 1980, I would fly north
for the summer. This was before Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers
[3] and the airline industry was still heavily regulated; because the prices
were fixed, the various airlines had to compete with the only weapon they had
left: service.

I remember flights as a kid being not that all unpleasant. Granted, I was
much smaller then so I could easily fit in the seats. And they still fed us
meals. And I remember that between my Mom and grandparents, they paid around
$300 for a round trip ticket.

Adjusted for inflation, $300 1980 dollars equals $708 2005 dollars.

And yes, for $700 dollars you could probably get wonderful service from the
airline industry, unlike the cattle car mentality you get now (“be grateful
you even get water you ingrates!”).

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2005/07/26.1
[2] http://www.detroitfunk.com/
[3] http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id296.htm

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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