With just a few weeks to go before Super Bowl LIX kicks off in New Orleans, local FBOs are reinstating event fees in preparation for the influx of aircraft.
I remember last year BVU was a bargain at about $5k compared to LAS or VGT. The coolest example of capitalism - besides the reservation system and the supply and demand part - was the elevated al la carte add-ons that the FBOs charged.
If you can afford the Super Bowl fees, the FBOs might as well gouge you also. Or you can sit at home with a 72" screen and sip some good WT101, no additional charge.
If it’s a need it’s price gouging. If it’s a want it’s not. I don’t think going to the Super Bowl in your private jet would be classified as a need. Maybe if you were flying a 150, 172, or, any Cessna for that matter it would be a need.
The City is hosting the event; so there is a “need” for transportation.
At those outrageous prices I’d be tempted to have someone taxi my plane for 4 hours and avoid parking altogether.
I can understand the FBO chains charging high fees for “special events”. It’s called capitalism. Too bad the service those chain FBO’s provide doesn’t equal the price of the fees charged.
Hmm…price-gouging or capitalism…I think any one of us would be hard-pressed to say you have a hard and fast rule for when one becomes another…consider.
If the two teams have better players (they do) than the teams that didn’t make the game, then I suppose paying those players who ask for more money because “they’re the best” could be price-gouging…
The hotdog that I pay $5 for at a game costs tens of times more than they cost at the grocery store, and presumably the grocery store is still making money, so I guess those are “price-gouging” too…
A $10 beer that at your local bar you can pick up for $3…yeah, price-gouging…
The ticket prices for the super-bowl vs. your favorite team’s lowest ranked opponent…yeah, price-gouging…
It could go on and on. The best coaches negotiate for more (high demand, lower supply), the best city to host the game (high demand, lower supply), parking is limited, Uber has more demand…I bet the air carriers who contract with the team get more for this game than regular season games.
In my mind, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs starts with “food, shelter, and clothing”…and I don’t recall “sporting events” anywhere on the pyramid. So if it isn’t a “need”, I’d be hard-pressed to call it price-gouging. Expensive? Yep, you bet. Would I pay it? Heck no. Just don’t cry “foul” just because someone else will pay what you aren’t willing to pay.