Seems just the typical cycle of virtue signalling from the Competitively Offended. Here's how it works:
CO: "First class is
evil and kills baby seals. We demand everybody travels Standard."
[Train operators meekly comply; business travelers and wealthier folks travel by air instead.]
CO: "But airplanes are
evil and kill baby dolphins. We demand nobody travels by air."
[Regulators meekly comply. Quickly afterward, the private sector embraces the sudden market for ultra-luxury coach travel.]
CO: "But coaches that posh are
evil and kill baby koalas. Trains are more efficient..."
[At which point, anyone with half a brain shrugs their shoulders and emigrates.]
Basically it's jealousy masquerading as "activism", and is best handled by ignoring it completely.
On a lighter note, I've noticed my own double standards, traveling by air. On my own dime I'll travel on the cheapest dates possible, and take delight in every economy I can muster (e.g. grabbing a luggage cart from a parking area, rather than paying for one in the terminal). I then board the plane and sneer with
disgust at the snobs in the front cabin, marinating in their expensive perfumes/deodorants while checking they don't have a hair out of place.....
However if I'm on expenses then having taken my seat upfront, I sneer with
disgust at the oiks slouching past towards the back of the airplane, who haven't washed in months and can't use a comb........ muhahaa.