The point is that there's a serious opportunity cost. By prioritizing customer service (to some degree), airlines can't charge sell space to businesses moving cargo for a higher margin.
The coffee shop argument doesn't really work because you can't keep scaling it. At a certain point people want space for books. But given that there's a space shortage on international flights, there's probably room for airlines to make more money by charging for freight instead of taking your luggage.
The coffee shop argument doesn't really work because you can't keep scaling it. At a certain point people want space for books. But given that there's a space shortage on international flights, there's probably room for airlines to make more money by charging for freight instead of taking your luggage.