Although I agree, I'm also not sure there's any current incentive to improve that from the airlines' point of view. This is one of those circumstances where the airlines probably don't care that booking businesses make a little money that doesn't go to the airlines' bottom line because the other side of the scale is that most people just happily book a free flight, even if they're booking at a higher, anytime award amount--or in the case of US, sometimes at a rate that would be highway robbery, except they publicize the possibility that you might have to pay that rate instead of just saying that it's likely you'll pay that rate and unlikely you'll pay the much lower rate.

My last comment is probably more relevant to the AA and US threads about the merger, though. . .