I’m not sure I buy the “artificially” as it implies that they have made things worse for Basic Economy in a way that doesn’t relate to distributing a scarce resource. Boarding priority and such are scarce and it makes some sense there’s a market price for them.

I am however concerned about the “everything is for sale” mentality this has brought. It used to be that some things couldn’t be bought with money, you had to wait in line like everyone else. More and more I see “pay to cut the line” and I think that drives class divisions and further damages a feeling of community and egalitarianism.