Way back in the day (waaaayyyy back), I worked in the music industry and flew quite a bit. Our goal was to, as quickly as possible, tag a whole row of empty (economy) seats to take a nap in. All of us, stretching out as best we could in the back of the plane. More often than not, we'd be successful. Now, it seems like a thrilling perk if you happen to have an empty seat next to you. The planes are surely much more crowded, and thus, fiscally viable, now.

I guess it makes sense that fewer and fewer award seats would be available on more crowded flights... and with so many more FF travelers, it's just more big dogs fighting over the same bone, eh?