Dynamic Pricing in USA sucks! Americans getting ripped off everywhere now

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

Last edited Wed May 28, 2025, 02:31 PM - Edit history (3)

Used to be somewhat fair for US consumers decades ago,
BEFORE US corporations decided it was extremely profitable to
RIP-OFF its own customers.

— Toll roads, many now charge higher tolls, dynamic pricing when there is lots of traffic. So commute costs are higher now.thanks to greedy companies.

— Entertainment for families is outrageously expensive just about everywhere in America. Theme Parks are extremely costly for a family, and even with the high expense you still get screwed with long waits on rides, large crowds that are oppressive, you have to pay to even park your car even on top of entry costs.

— Even small attractions like caverns, say Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio Texas…, have dynamic pricing too, albeit it’s not too much more on the high demand days. BUT IT SHOULD STILL BE THE SAME ENTRY PRICE PER PERSON EVERY DAY, not more for different days.

— Hotels, any prime RIP-OFF !! Hotels charges are so expensive, lots more for a Friday and Saturday nights, then lots of hotels charge that RESORT FEE daily THAT IS NOTHING BUT PRICE GOUGING !!

— Airlines, those frequent flyers miles are getting useless, due to airlines dynamic flight rewards, what used to be “set in stone” number of miles needed
has morphed into….Why bother anymore to try and stay with one airline for Rewards—- you can’t get flights when you want to use your rewards— so even SW Airlines is screwing its customers to pay for bags now.

I can remember when flying in the US commercially in the 1970s and 1980s the airlines seats were still relatively comfortable and not crammed so tightly as today in Coach. The seat width back then in coach was usually about 20-22 inches wide

In mid-1980s a quick hopper flight I took on British Air from Cork Ireland to London was fantastic!! Large seats, great inflight meal served on white linen, with cloth white napkins,,, menu choices, fantastic service on that short flight

Braniff had great service
British Air had great service.
Even PSA had great service and seats were NOT crammed tightly together.
In the 1980s, On PSA a short flight from San Jose to Reno was even enjoyable.
The seats were relatively large then.
(PSA- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines )

SW Airlines 1970s
https://southwest50.com/by-the-decades-70s/

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Seat width is nothing better than crammed like sardines
Most are 17 to 18 wide !! That SUCKS

https://www.tripsavvy.com/everything-you-want-to-know-about-airline-seat-pitch-53282

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This is a few years ago, so likely it’s even tighter seats now…

June 2018
https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/44255063/u-s-airlines-with-the-widest-seats-in-coach/
Airlines to Avoid

American Airlines: With such a variety of planes in its fleet, it's a lot harder to pin down what exact seat width you'll receive on your AA flight. Overall flying on an Airbus will get you a smidge more room on American ranging on average from about 17 to 17.7, but on several versions of the A320 and A330, there are a handful of seats with a tight 16.3 seat width. Avoid flying the new 737 MAX and 737-800 planes from American. Alongside a dismal 30" pitch, they also sport seats that can have diameters as tight as 15.9 and 16.6 inches. While the average seat size you'll get on American is a smidge under 17 inches, try for the older Airbuses or 767s as they tend to have the most cushion coverage.

Sun Country: According to Sun Country's website, its narrowest coach seat width is 16.1 while its widest is 17.3. So if we pin it somewhere in the middle, you can expect a below average 16.7-inch seat width’s amongst the airlines fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. To make matters worse, Sun Country is refitting their planes to cram in more seats (from 168 to 183) and eliminating the first-class cabin. While this move will mostly impact seat pitch, it will also remove a buy-up option for a wider seat so that every single seat on the plane will have a below industry average.

Bottom Line

When it comes to seat width on US-based airlines, it’s more about the type of plane you are flying on rather than the carrier. Generally speaking, Airbuses will give you that little bit of extra room around the hips, while the narrow body Boeings will have a slimmed down seat offering. The larger international and cross-country serving aircraft tend to have the most variation amongst the fleets. They can offer some of the best seat widths but also the tightest depending on how jam-packed the airline chooses to configure them. If you aren't sure what to expect on your next flight, you can always enter your flight information into SeatGuru.com for a detailed assessment of seat layouts, pitches, and widths across all major airlines.

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Dec 2017

https://www.businessinsider.com/airline-seats-shrunk-over-time-coach-flight-travel-2017-12?op=1

How airline seats have shrunk over the years. Feeling cramped? You're not alone. Airlines are adding more seats, leaving less room for individual passengers. The pitch, or distance between seats, has shrunk. The minimum pitch has gone from 31"/32" to 30". It's not just the pitch. Seat width has also been narrowed over the years. Each airline has lost about 2 inches in seat width.

These aren't even the smallest. Some airlines fill the Airbus A330 with 16.7" seats. For comparison, the average first class seat is 21" wide. One small study compared sleep quality in 17" vs. 18" wide seats. 2/3 of passengers who slept in the 18" seats reported better quality sleep. Plus, passengers fell asleep faster and had fewer twitches in the 18" seats. So if you plan on catching some Zzz's on your flight, dish out the cash for a seat upgrade.

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https://maphappy.org/this-is-how-small-airplane-seats-have-shrunk-over-the-years/

Seat Width (in inches)

1985 to 2014:
American went from 19”-20” to 17”-18.5”
Delta went from 19”-20” to 17.2”-18”
SW went from 19” to 17”

Year American Delta UNITED SOUTHWEST
1985 19-20 19-20 19.5-20 19
1995 18.5-23 18.5-23 18.5-23 18.5-23
2014 17.2-18.5 17.2-18. 17-18.3 17