Maybe I am conditioned but I totally agree. I think what makes this kind of stuff not feel like a dark pattern to me is that they are very up-front about this setup being their business model.

They are offering a cheap seat which may even be below their cost if you avoid all the add-ons.

The consumer who skips all these add-ons feels smart. They feel like someone else is subsidizing their flight.

Perhaps we can even call this booking process a game where the customer comes out at the end feeling like they beat the level.

If any of you have seen Ryanair’s social media marketing you’ll know exactly what I mean. They make jokes about how cheap they are, like this one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRWGfNvDryu/

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macintux 3 hours ago | parent [-]

The dark patterns are one thing; the criminal customer service once you're booked, however, seems much harder to game.

Stories from this thread mean I'd never fly them (admittedly, I'll probably never have the opportunity):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48502935

	▲	marysol5 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		But that was this persons mistake, I'm still not sure what a "Travel Authorisation" even is outside of COVID checks. Not checking into a flight, because you wont onto an entirely different website, to complete an entirely different form isn't the airline.... Services for wheelchair are handled by the airport, not the airline, again, I don't see anything in this comment where they sorted out the services that are required prior.
	▲	basisword an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		1. They make the online check-in thing ridiculously clear and it's been like that for at least a decade now. They send multiple emails warning people too. 2. Having utilised wheelchairs at airports you need to go very early. The airports don't have enough staff and they basically have to assign you someone for an hour to get you through security and on to the plane. The times I've done it, it's always airport staff and nothing to do with the airline.