Not sure if you have traveled lately, but in order to keep the minimum price lower and compete with the no-frills airlines, almost all of the airlines have gone to a-la-carte pricing. The base ticket you buy is just for the transportation from point A to point B. If you want to pick your own assigned seat: fee. If you want a checked bag: fee. If you want space in the overhead bin for a bag: fee. The thought here is allow passengers who don't need those services don't have to pay for it. Under the old system where all of that was included, the fares were higher as everybody is paying for the cost to handle checked bags for that flight, for example.
This is
exactly what is happening. When you pick your seats, the seats in front are more expensive than the back. Exit rows are more expensive. Aisles and windows are more expensive than the middle.
So are you personally willing to pay a higher fare to fly on an airline that doesn't charge for seats, baggage, etc? Then tell me how that is any different than flying that same airline where the fare is lower and you pay for the extras that you choose to use, and the fare ends up being the same?
The problem is that the general public will almost always choose the cheapest base fare. They have almost zero loyalty to a particular airline. This is, of course, not the ideal situation, but we (the global "we"), the customers who have demanded lower fares, have gotten exactly what we deserve.
Kurt