Who is paying these fares? Besides executives, investors and high-end consultants who can pay these fares out of pocket, some lucky people get J seats paid by their employer for long flights (so they can actually do "business" in the air and on the ground, hence the name). It's also not uncommon for people working a long way from home on "expat packages" to get periodic J tickets home as part of their compensation package.

How do you avoid paying the price? Ummm, upgrade. Or shop around some consolidators, maybe.