LSAT Explanation PT 29, S1, Q20: The price of a full-fare coach

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following, if assumed, would allow the conclusion above to be properly drawn? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Sufficient Assumption question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is B. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the argument in the passage and identify its structure. The argument can be broken down into the following premises and conclusion:

Premise 1: The price of a full-fare coach ticket from Toronto to Dallas on Breezeway Airlines is the same today as it was a year ago (when accounting for inflation).

Premise 2: A year ago, there was a 50/50 split between full-fare and discount tickets.

Premise 3: Today, 90% of the tickets are discounted and only 10% are full-fare.

Conclusion: On average, people pay less today in constant dollars for a Breezeway Toronto-to-Dallas coach ticket than they did a year ago.

The question type is a Sufficient Assumption question, which asks us to identify an assumption that, if true, would allow the conclusion to be properly drawn.

The Evaluate question we can come up with for this argument is: "Are the discount ticket prices the same today as they were a year ago?"

Now, let's discuss each answer choice:

a) This answer choice talks about the level of service provided by the full-fare tickets, which is irrelevant to the average price paid by passengers. This doesn't help us draw the conclusion.

b) This answer choice states that the discount ticket prices are about the same in constant dollars today as they were a year ago. If this is true, then the increase in the proportion of discount tickets sold would indeed lead to a lower average price paid by passengers. This assumption allows us to properly draw the conclusion, making it the correct answer.

c) This answer choice reiterates the information from Premise 1, stating that all full-fare coach tickets on Breezeway Airlines cost the same in constant dollars as they did a year ago. This doesn't help us draw the conclusion about the average price paid by passengers since we need information about the discount ticket prices.

d) This answer choice talks about the average number of coach passengers per flight, which is irrelevant to the average price paid by passengers. The number of passengers doesn't affect the average price paid, as we are looking for information about ticket prices, not passenger volume.

e) This answer choice discusses the criteria Breezeway Airlines uses for permitting passengers to buy discount coach tickets. However, it doesn't provide any information about the actual prices of the discount tickets, which is what we need to draw the conclusion about the average price paid by passengers.

In summary, the correct answer is B, as it provides an assumption that allows us to properly draw the conclusion about the average price paid by passengers for Breezeway Toronto-to-Dallas coach tickets.