When I agree with Punki and shadow, that's routine, but when Nathan Detroit agrees with me, that could only happen on the last day of a Millenium!

letiole makes an interesting point. From my recollection, here is a comparison of the price structure in 1978 and currently, for the route JFK-LAX (round-trip):

...........................................1978... ......Now

Full-fare economy...............~$1100.....~$2100
Discount economy/(APEX)......~$600......~$400
(if you could actually get it)
First Class.........................~$1700.....~$4500

Conclusion: The airlines have chosen (their choice, not ours) to replace the revenue from full-fare economy and first class tickets that hardly anyone pays with the revenue from a much greater number of seats (see comment above re load factor) sold at discounted prices under restrictive conditions. Most of us have learned to modify our behavior so as to fit the restrictions, at least some of the time.

Also: Airline profitability is the highest it has ever been in my lifetime, and UA, AA, DL, etc. do not even have to imagine the word "competition" most days. So to whose benefit did the changes in airline pricing structure and marketing philosophy accrue?

[Note: Had to throw in the dots in the table above to keep UBB from eating the spaces. ]

[This message has been edited by RichG (edited 12-31-1999).]