And this is why the "branded fares" is AC shooting itself in the foot. This strategy no longer really works. It's entirely possible now to wait until the plane is nearly full and find low brands are still available -- as expensive as ever but branded Standard or even Basic, just for Latitude prices.

The flip side of the argument was that if you were planning to pay for a high fare class then once upon a time that effectively gave you flexibility even beyond anything written into the fare since it meant there was no urgency to book early. Now waiting a day means paying more whether you're booking Basic or Latitude.