Probably true for many. But there can also be the other side of things where you just need to fly a lot and you want to keep those costs from adding up over time. For instance, needing to fly back and forth from home where you work to visit an ill relative. There are probably many situations where there is reasonable value to be had from a strategy like this.

Plus, you get the benefit of looking like an extremely cool dude!

Money that one can afford to spend can still be saved, so it's of interest to anybody who feels the savings are worth the added effort.

Two things:

1) Not all travel is for pleasure.

2) I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford baggage fees or whatever nonsense the airline wants to try and charge me for, but I absolutely hate being nickeled and dimed. I prioritize using companies that provide upfront total costs whenever possible to vote with my wallet.

Last time I flew eu cheap, you had to pay in cash if you were over. A lot of pissed people at the atm. The £20 it cost me, I would have preferred to donate, or just throw away, rather than donate to some airline.

There are a lot of < $100 domestic flights available to low-income people. If you have friends in the area so you aren't paying for lodging, $30 on a $90 ticket is substantial.

In Europe you can get flights for $25. That's $50 both ways, plus let's say 2 nights, which in many places can be had for $50/night. That's $150 plus whatever you send there. Spending another 2x$25 on baggage fees makes a huge impact on that budget.

Same goes for paying for a specific seat rather than expecting someone who has done just that to move so your family can sit together.

On Frontier you could easily spend as much on baggage as the fight itself.