As mentioned beore, youd have to go way back to compare ticket rices to regulated area travle. been flying since i was a baby, but never really had any idea of trip costs until 1996. Thats when I first joined AAdvantage my dad, sister and I went to SE Asia, business class seats in CX where about $6,000 each we flew JFK-YVR-HKG-SIN-DPS-HKG-YVR-JFK, one of the segments was Garuda Indonesia. Jon our return, we were all Gold.
Can't compare nowadays, but I've gotten business class to Europe as low as $1,500 a year or two ago, I think ticket prices are very reasonable on american carriers nowadays.