TW:
You won't be alone. It's getting more clear by the day this is exactly where we're all headed. In the long run, we may all be better off. I started flying in the mid 70s. Although the cheaper fares were higher back then, ironically the full fares were only a bit more than the cheapest ones. I looked back through some old records recently. In 1978, Delta's unrestricted first class roundtrip from DCA to ATL was $178; unrestricted coach was $148; and supersavers seemed to be around $100. I was just out of college and commuting (at my own expense)between DCA and ATL every few weeks. About half the time, I just bought the full fare first. Any economists out there who could adjust these fares for inflation? Would the $178 be about $500 today. Isn't DL's unrestricted F fare between DCA-ATL almost 3 times that today? By contrast, wouldn't the $100 cheap ticket of 1978 adjust to about $230 in today's money? In July 2002, I flew from DCA-ATL roundtrip for $178. Something's going to have to shake out over the next few year's. The only viable airline business models today seem to be ultra cheap (WN, JetBlue, RyanAir) versus long-haul top quality (SQ, CX, BA). The US majors don't fit either model- maybe a third one will shape itself. Meanwhile, I'm with you TW- best to just get the best deal each trip irregardless of whether it's DL - and go sit in the back.