Checked bags, seat selection, gym access, pool towels and even Wi-Fi are increasingly treated as add-ons—part of what consumer advocates call “premium creep,” where unbundled basics are repackaged as upgrades and priced well above the original ticket.
For years, the idea was simple: buy a ticket, show up, and you’d get the basics. Then the receipt got longer.
Now. travelers are watching more of what used to come automatically—checked bags. picking a seat. even basic internet access—turn into paid upgrades. The change doesn’t always arrive with a dramatic new product. It arrives quietly, line by line, until “premium” becomes the default way to get what passengers once considered standard.
That shift has a name in consumer circles: “premium creep.” It’s also been described as a form of travel “shrinkflation,” where companies unbundle services and then charge extra for items that used to be part of the base experience.
Dean Rotchin, CEO of Blackjet, put it bluntly: “This trend is not about consumer demand but the demand by companies to maximize their margins through the unbundling of services.”
Premium creep, he and other experts say, works because it changes what travelers feel they’re buying. Instead of getting more, many people get less—then pay to escape what the industry itself has made uncomfortable.
Jon Morgan, a frequent air traveler who runs a venture capital firm, described it as “simply removal of the recently inflicted pain – the pain caused by the company itself.”
The economics of adding fees
The modern fee model traces back to airline deregulation, and accelerated after the 2008 financial crisis, when airlines learned they could advertise rock-bottom fares and recoup profits through charges.
It started with discount carriers charging for anything not nailed down in the cabin, and then spread to legacy airlines. The payoff was enormous. Airlines generated $148 billion in ancillary revenue worldwide in 2024, a 26% increase from the previous year.
Ancillary fees—baggage, seat selection, early boarding and other extras—became the difference between the “cheap” ticket and the price passengers finally paid.
In that model, the basic product becomes the lever. Airline seat pitch shrank from an average of roughly 34 inches in the 1970s to around 30 inches today. Four inches of personal space—taken during a period when travelers weren’t looking—became part of what companies now ask customers to pay to improve.
Michal Strahilevitz. director of the Elfenworks Center for Responsible Business at Saint Mary’s College of California. called the whole framework a mismatch in promise and reality. “Premium is not the new economy,” she said. “It’s a downgrade disguised as an upgrade. Features that were once standard are now removed and sold back to consumers at a premium. creating the illusion of added value where none actually exists.”.
Jacob Wedderburn-Day, CEO of Stasher, a luggage storage service, described the mechanism from the business side. “Companies determine what’s premium by testing what they can remove from the base product without losing significant customers,” he said. “They’re not offering anything new or better. They’re taking away what used to be standard and charging you for it separately.”.
Hotels, cruise lines and the same logic
Airlines aren’t alone. The unbundling playbook spread across travel.
Hotels, for example, have famously unbundled basics like use of their gyms, daily newspapers and towels at the pool. That can show up as a mandatory “resort” fee for guests.
Cruise lines, too, removed access to some amenities and redirected travelers toward special packages. Access to the best restaurants became harder to get without an upcharge, while basic necessities like Wi-Fi and soft drinks were included through packaged deals rather than treated as standard.
Tour operators followed suit, making most meals and activities optional and charging extra for them.
Even when the offer includes a “premium” upgrade, travelers are seeing familiar items repackaged.
Gabrielle Yap. a culinary entrepreneur who travels constantly. said she recently stayed at a hotel that advertised “premium” breakfast for an extra $25 per day. “Last year in this city, breakfast was automatically a part of the service,” she said. “Now it is paid for if included or bought as a premium item.”.
Rob DelliBovi, founder of RDB Hospitality Group, said he’s noticed some hotels slow down complimentary Wi-Fi to push customers toward paid “premium” internet. He said he’s seen properties make it nearly impossible to stream a movie or even join a video call on the standard connection.
Mike Jirout. who runs a cruise booking site. analyzed 122 cruise ships and found that specialty restaurants now account for one out of every two dining venues on newer ships. “It’s undeniable that cruise lines have been packing their ships with more ‘specialty’ restaurants, (most) requiring an upcharge,” he said.
The approach is also showing up in car rentals. Want USB ports and built-in navigation? Travelers are often told they need to upgrade to a “premium” vehicle.
Why it works: it doesn’t feel like a price hike
Part of the power of premium creep is psychological. The charge doesn’t always present itself as a simple fee increase. It’s packaged as choice, flexibility, or an upgrade.
Jason Vaught, a frequent traveler and marketing expert, described the pattern: “Basic services are being unbundled and sold back to you,” he said. “All these extras add on to the price of the ticket far beyond what you first saw.”
Experts say the industry also leaned into language that makes resistance easier to avoid. After the 2008 financial crisis, terms like “premium,” “basic” and “choice” became part of how companies reduced friction with customers.
Stefany Ceccato. a travel advisor with DMC Travel Tailor. said some experienced travelers have stopped treating economy as a bargain on long flights. “For my clients, some feel the same,” she said. “They will fly less if they have to. but fly business or premium economy to get the comfort on long flights.”.
The result, as the story plays out for passengers, is stark: companies don’t just add value. They remove enough that people either pay more—or change plans.
The hidden costs aren’t just money
Premium creep can also create a second, less visible expense: time. It takes work to calculate the true cost of “cheap” travel when fees and upgrades stack up.
Delbert Lee, a former vice president for a travel company, said it’s essential to run the numbers. “Calculate the total cost of the travel experience,” he recommends.
The advertised base price, he said, doesn’t tell the full story. Travelers are pushed to add everything—baggage, seat selection, early check-in, Wi-Fi, resort fees—before comparing options.
If that calculation sounds exhausting, it’s because it is. And for many travelers, the “upgrade” model turns every booking into a negotiation with the fine print.
Still, some options exist
Consumer advocates say premium creep isn’t universal.
Some international carriers—Emirates, Singapore Airlines and ANA—still provide actual service in economy, with reputation and service quality forming the basis of their business rather than additional charges.
There are also practical tactics for people trying to avoid paying for every marginal improvement. Flyers can look at off-peak travel days, such as mid-week, and then wait for an opening to bid for an upgrade rather than paying for a better seat upfront.
What can travelers do now?
The pushback, advocates say, has to be direct.
The core message is to demand quality at fair prices instead of accepting travel “shrinkflation” wrapped in marketing double-speak.
The advice is blunt: don’t buy the framing that passengers are getting “choice.” In this view, travelers are often getting less for more, repackaged as an upgrade.
Working with a pro can reduce the chances of being trapped by confusing pricing. A human travel agent, the guidance goes, can help identify companies that bundle services transparently.
There’s also a call to “vote with your wallet”—support airlines and hotels that bundle services clearly even if their sticker prices look higher—and to push back when companies advertise one price and charge another.
File complaints when fees don’t match the purchase.
For advocates, the point is to restore the old baseline expectations. If you fly. they argue. you should get 34 inches of legroom. a checked bag. an assigned seat and—on longer flights—an edible meal. If you stay at a hotel, basic services should be included in the up-front price. And the travel industry should still make money the old-fashioned way: by charging for tickets and rooms.
“This wasn’t premium,” advocates say. “That was basic travel.”
Until consumers demand it back, premium creep is expected to continue inch by inch—one inch, one fee, one “premium” upcharge at a time.
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