A very interesting discussion--and one that may never be resolved.
IMHO, the current airline pricing model of, really ripping off certain passengers who must fly on short notice is economically unproductive overall.
While it may maximize airline profits the toll on society overall is great. Airlines are, or should be, more like a regulated utility. One price fits all. I don't pay more for electricity when really, really need the power to go on FT as opposed to when I just sorta need it to watch Dancing with Bears or whatever.
For that matter I don't pay more for gas if I have to buy it right now because the tank is empty.
Airline pricing as it is now is just another example of charge the poor, uneducated, those you can screw because they need it right now, those who don't belong to the frequent buyers club, a lot more which has a lot of frictional, social costs which the airlines pass of to us all. Think of the productive uses all the time spent trying to get a decent fare could be put to.
In any event, the current airline pricing setup isn't workng very well. Almost all of the airlines teeter on the brink of going under.
I am no fan of the somewhat fixed pricing we used to have, but we did used to have legroom, clean, new, planes and even (imagine that) hot meals. @:-)