Air travel can only benefit the richest people in the world. Ordinary people can get no advantages with the development of air travel. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

I disagree with the statement that air travel has advantages only for the wealthiest people and there are no benefits for the vast majority of the middle and lower class people. I shall put forth my arguments to support my views in the following essay.  There is no doubt that a few years ago, air travel was the only for the upper strator of society. However, nowadays, most of the airline companies are offering economy class tickets which are affordable by the common man. On the top of that, they have a scheme by which if one buys ticket well in advance than the cost of ticket is even lower. So, the given statement is not justified in today's scenario. If we go with the notion that only the rich can travel by air, then also the ordinary man is benefited in various ways. When rich tourists come to visit a place, they spend a lot of in hotels, tourist places and also in the shopping centres from where they buy souvenirs. Many people are employed in the tourism industry. Even if they can't travel themselves, their sources of income is directly or indirectly dependent on these tourist who travel by air. For example, in India, during the tourist season many guides, rickshaw wallas and taxi drivers earn enough to last them a whole year. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that, as tourist come, the governments spend on infrastructure such as stadiums roads and hotels. All these are used by the common man. Finally, the common man gets opportunity for culture exchange even without himself travelling by air. When other people come he learns about their culture and gives them the good points of his culture. In conclusion, air travel benefits all people and not just the most affluent.