alt Hacker NewsIf they can afford to fly Bob for $50, Alice deserves that too. If that means the flight isn't profitable, then I guess they couldn't really afford to fly Bob or Alice for $50 and that price was a farce to begin with. I can understand airlines want to squeeze their customers for the maximum they are willing to pay, but I don't think that makes a good argument and I don't they should be entitled to it.
In their defense, the $50 fares aren't profitable on its own. It costs $140 to fly this two-seater plane in the simple illustration (and let's wave away Alice and Bob's weights). Charging one of them $100 (that their company would pay for anyway) makes it possible for both to fly. That's not really bad.