Scraping by in a world of excess, By Osmund Agbo

I can nonetheless recall, with placing readability, my first flight to the US from Nigeria on a crisp January day in 2001. It was greater than only a journey; it was a leap into the unknown, forsaking the acquainted heat of house for the huge, uncharted territories of a brand new world. The journey started on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Royal Dutch Airways, KLM, which took us from Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport in Lagos, via Amsterdam, and at last touched down at Chicago O’Hare Airport.

That flight, although, was an expertise in itself — an period the place air journey felt like a privilege fairly than a transaction.

The seats had been generously spaced, permitting for consolation on the lengthy journey. The flight attendants had been gracious, treating us with a stage of hospitality that made us really feel really like valued friends and never simply mere passengers.

Each element, from the pristine restrooms to the in-flight eating expertise that supplied culinary choices which might simply rival these curated by Wolfgang Puck, mirrored an period when passengers consolation mattered. These had been the nice previous days.

However am I merely falling into the widespread human behavior of romanticizing days passed by? Have been they actually higher? How might they be, with out the conveniences of the World Huge Net, with out smartphone apps that simplify our lives in methods we couldn’t have imagined again then? How might a time when procuring meant hours of trudging from retailer to retailer be higher than as we speak, once we can browse the world’s choices from our beds with just some faucets on a display? And but, regardless of all these developments, one thing important feels misplaced. There’s a pervasive vacancy, a eager for a time when issues felt extra significant, extra human. It’s this undercurrent of dissatisfaction that drives us to look again with nostalgia.

Over the previous few many years, expertise has revolutionised the worldwide financial system, enabling unprecedented ranges of wealth creation. Automation, synthetic intelligence, and the web have pushed productiveness to new heights, creating billion-dollar industries and making it simpler than ever to generate and accumulate wealth. In idea, such developments ought to result in improved companies and better comfort for customers. But, paradoxically, in lots of instances, the other appears to be true. There’s nonetheless a lot poverty throughout us at a stage that’s unconscionable.

Fundamental conveniences in a number of service sectors has been on the decline. The airline trade is a major instance of this paradox. The in-flight complimentary eating expertise as we speak is a mere shadow of its former self, lowered from full-course meals on worldwide flights like the sort I had with KLM to a disappointing caricature. The place passengers as soon as loved thoughtfully crafted menus with a number of programs, they’re now supplied uninspiring, pre-packaged snacks. On home flights, the decline is much more pronounced — what was a scorching meal is now typically only a packet of pretzels and a small glass of soda, even on four-hour journeys.

Regardless of developments in expertise which have made flights extra environment friendly and lowered prices, the passenger expertise has deteriorated. Seats have turn into smaller, legroom extra cramped, and complimentary companies more and more uncommon. What was customary comforts are actually typically thought-about luxuries, obtainable just for an extra charge. 

Wages have additionally stagnated lately. In the US for instance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics information highlights the severity of this concern: Adjusted for inflation, common weekly nonsupervisory wages — a key measure of blue-collar earnings — had been really increased in 1969 than they’re as we speak. In the meantime, executives’ earnings have skyrocketed. This phenomenon begs the query: why are all these occurring at a time when output and productiveness are at an all-time excessive. 

One of many major causes for the discount in passenger consolation and facilities is the profit-driven nature of the airline trade. Airways function on slim revenue margins and are continually looking for methods to chop prices and enhance income. Over time, many airways have adopted a “low-cost service” mannequin to compete with price range airways, which regularly means stripping down companies to the naked minimal and charging additional for any extra perks.

This mannequin has confirmed worthwhile for airways, as they will maximise the variety of passengers per flight whereas minimizing prices. Nevertheless, this drive for revenue maximisation has led to a decline in buyer expertise. The discount in seat house is a direct results of airways trying to suit extra passengers into every aircraft. This apply, referred to as “densification,” permits airways to extend their load issue, or the proportion of seats crammed on every flight, thereby maximising income.

In the meantime, the discount in complimentary companies, corresponding to meals and snacks, is one other cost-cutting measure. By providing fewer free facilities, airways get monetary savings and might encourage passengers to buy meals and drinks onboard, additional boosting their income.

Regardless of these cost-cutting measures, it isn’t fully correct to say that airways are struggling financially. In actual fact, many airways have reported important income lately, significantly earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic. The give attention to revenue maximization is much less about monetary survival and extra about growing returns for shareholders and executives.

Airways, like many firms, are below fixed stress to ship short-term monetary outcomes to fulfill traders. 

This stress can result in a give attention to cost-cutting and revenue-boosting methods that improve profitability however on the expense of buyer consolation and expertise. Moreover, government compensation within the airline trade, as in lots of different sectors, is usually tied to monetary efficiency metrics, corresponding to inventory worth and revenue margins. This creates an incentive for executives to prioritize profitability over buyer satisfaction, as their bonuses and compensation are instantly linked to those monetary outcomes.

The decline in passenger consolation and facilities within the airline trade and stagnation of wages are indicative of a broader pattern throughout many sectors, the place the drive for revenue maximisation typically comes on the expense of public good. Per a latest report from the Institute for Coverage Research printed within the New York Occasions, it reveals that the CEO of Reside Nation Leisure, a live performance firm, earned $139 million from 2022 to 2025, which is 414 occasions as a lot as his agency’s median of $25,673. 

The report additionally highlights that since 2020 at Greenback Tree, a retailer the place many struggling People store and work, costs have risen, common employee pay has decreased, and the CEO’s inventory holdings have surged in worth by over 2,000 per cent.

This pattern raises essential questions in regards to the function of firms in society and the extent to which they need to be allowed to prioritize income over individuals.

The give attention to short-term monetary positive aspects and shareholder worth has led to a state of affairs the place the wants and preferences of customers are sometimes secondary issues. 

The decline in passenger consolation and facilities and employees not receiving habitable wages isn’t solely a results of company greed; regulatory oversight — or the dearth thereof — additionally performs a vital function. In idea, authorities businesses and lawmakers are supposed to guard employees and customers from unfair practices and be certain that industries function within the public’s greatest curiosity. Nevertheless, in apply, the affect of company lobbying has typically resulted in regulatory our bodies which might be extra sympathetic to trade pursuits than these of customers.

Lobbying is a strong device that industries use to affect laws and regulation of their favor. Within the case of the airline trade, lobbying efforts have typically centered on stopping the imposition of stricter laws that would influence profitability. For instance, airways have efficiently lobbied in opposition to proposed laws that may mandate minimal seat sizes or require extra transparency in pricing and charges. In consequence, customers are left with fewer protections and fewer recourse when confronted with declining service high quality and elevated prices.

The paradox of technological development and wealth creation coinciding with a decline in fundamental conveniences is a mirrored image of the broader dynamics at play within the international financial system. Whereas expertise has enabled better effectivity and wealth era, it has additionally facilitated a company tradition that prioritizes profitability above all else. This tradition, mixed with weak regulatory oversight and the affect of company lobbying, has led to a state of affairs the place shopper welfare is usually sacrificed for monetary acquire.

To handle this concern, there must be a recalibration of the stability between revenue and shopper welfare. Regulatory our bodies have to be empowered to implement stricter shopper safety requirements, and there ought to be better transparency in company practices. Moreover, firms should acknowledge that long-term success isn’t solely measured by monetary metrics but additionally by their capacity to offer worth and satisfaction to their clients. Solely by placing this stability can we be certain that the advantages of technological progress and financial progress are really shared by all.

Osmund Agbo is the writer of Black Grit, White Knuckles: The Philosophy of Black Renaissance and a fiction work titled The Velvet Court docket: Courtesan Chronicles. His newest works, Pray, Let the Shaman Die and Ma’am, I Do Not Come to You for Love, have simply been launched.