More on “up-selling” (adding value) the budget airline way

So you’re used to the idea of the ‘basic’ price being increased by additional ‘extras’ offered by retailers. Budget airlines are experts at this approach (spoofed brilliantly by David Walliams here), inviting us to pay more for drinks, snacks, priority boarding and the rest.

The latest interesting idea is hardly new – it’s aimed at getting you to pay more for allocated seating. The idea is discussed here. It’s all very interesting, even the airlines are willing to use the idea of pricing for extras as a marketing gimmick, as seen in the bizarre announcement (in 2009) that Ryanair would start charging passengers to use the toilet.