OP - Although his various concerns suggest that he is an experienced traveler, simply did not spend 10 seconds to rethink what he wrote:

1. Ticket change fees are not a reimbursement to the air carrier for the cost of reprinting a ticket. Of course it doesn't cost the carrier $150 to make a change (and it wouldn't cost that much even if the carrier printed a paper ticket and mailed it as in the "old" days). However, OP is plain wrong. There are no change fees on air tickets unless he chooses to buy a discounted ticket which does not allow for changes. The change fee is not the cost of changing the ticket, it is a penalty for making a change after agreeing that you want a discount in return for not making changes. Put simply, who in their right mind would buy a full fare ticket if they could get the same for less.

2. OP's other concerns run the gamut between airline fees and socially acceptable norms. For instance, some air carriers charge a fee for using the curbside check and that fee is above and beyond the bag fee. It pays for the convenience of curbside checking. One cal always check at the counter.

3. Tipping people who help you is an accepted norm in the USA. Yes, we tip the shuttle driver for the hotel / car rental shuttle. No, we don't tip the FA. That's the way it is.

4. There are countries where tipping is not expected and it's easy to find lists on any number of travel sights. If that's what motivates OP, he should then look at the visa & work permit requirements for those countries and move to one. Or, participate in society here.