I like the standard fare as when you travel YYC/YEG to YVR the flex fare for the 502/426 AQM is not worth it. Also when you upgrade at the gate there is no copay. Did this for Christmas, cheap fares with upgrades to J as most Business travelers are not travelling.
AC will only do this if people keep paying. So i blame those who like to pay more as AC loves those corporate accounts, they pay the higher fares.
Sometimes chasing status with some routes simply does not make sense. I do hope the other two low cost carriers make a go of it this year so that would be four new low cost carriers driving down fares. Remember reality, 6 million Canadians cross the border each year to fly on US carriers. AC CEO complained about that two years ago!