I don't think Randy is too worried about how he'll get folks to pay, he's already said that ad-free FT will come with any of the other services he offers, which means (at current pricing) it'll be as cheap as $12/yr for an online InsideFlyer subscription.

That's alot less than just about everyone has said they'd be willing to pay.

Plus you get something on top of it (magazine content, award redemption help, whichever you opt for).

Besides, I fully take Randy at his word that the current ads aren't a conscious direction he's wanted to go, he faults the ad agency for bringing the site to this point. As many have observed here, the ad campaigns that have been running are more often than not poorly targeted to the audience so the click-through rates are low. And he's said he's going to look into the whole thing, that he hadn't even really noticed since he surfs in ad-free mode.

Enough with the conspiracy theories. I think opinions have been heard in this (and other) thread(s).

^