These suggestions are quite helpful -- thanks so much.
I'm sure it varies by airline, but is anyone familiar with a program by which an airline sells a group of tickets to a single flier at a discount. I met a commuter a couple of years ago who had made some such arrangement on a Cleveland (I believe)-DC route, but I've forgotten the details. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether there are any advantages, other than advance-purchase and frequent flyer miles, to making an aggregate as opposed to per-ticket (or per round trip) purchase.