I too was initially wondering what the problem was with price discrimination---it seems like it's just offering a worse product for less money, so everyone gets to choose.

But from what I understand, the article is saying that the problem is that the worse product is _artificially_ worse, in a way that is not commensurate with quid pro quo consumption like we're used to.

If I pay less for a Macbook with worse specs, that's "good" price discrimination, because Apple gets to give me something of intrinsically lower value that it cost them less to produce, and I give them something of lower value (less money) that it cost me less to acquire.

But an airline _creating_ a bunch of hoops for you to jump through (the article lists "no advance seat assignment, no ticket changes, last boarding group, baggage restrictions") in an effort to cause people whom they can juice for a little more cash to identify themselves, is scammy and scummy behavior. I don't want to see companies purposefully making my life worse in order to juice me for as much as they can.