ABSTRACT

The most important part of a healthy prescription for pricing is to follow the same Hippocratic Oath which physicians are supposed to adhere to: do no harm. Airlines who wish to prosper need to decide on their objectives. These objectives should include the 'do no harm' policy or to phrase it more accurately: do not annoy your customers unnecessarily. However, the customers who are willing to pay reasonable amount should face a simple and consistent set of prices. In the same way that aircraft manufacturers index the price of an airplane to inflation so that they can run their business more efficiently and with more certainty, the passenger deserves to expect the same type of consistency. Economy class customers can be deprived of some service, although the realm of safety and health is not available as a differentiating agent. So, while economy passengers cannot be denied access to toilets they can be denied the chance to change flights for free.