Well, airline pricing isn't always driven by costs. It can cost more to fly on DL from ATL to BHM than from ATL to LAX, for example, due to where the competition is and isn't. But the Birmingham passenger isn't likely to get any better service.

Some of it is a game of expectations, too. Southwest has always set the bar low and been cheery and all that, and gets rewarded for it in satisfaction surveys while legacy passengers complain about botched features that WN doesn't even offer (Food used to be the real no-win situation, until they effectively cut it out). I have no axe to grind against WN, but I think their open seating and boarding is a major liability and am glad to see that Spirit and others have learned from that.

Finally, a particular pet peeve of mine is mainland-Hawaii service. I remember back in the day when the airlines tried to make it something a little special, with different FA outfits and special food menus, etc. Passengers were excited and it was a big chance for the airline to make an impression.

Those days may be gone, but today you've still mostly got the high fares (sometimes as high as Asia), packed planes and long flights that are domestic in service level but international in upgradeability. The worst of both worlds. Airlines are really milking it as a cash cow. I'm usually there as a stopover in going to Asia, but if I were paying the $500-$700 regular fares I'd feel a bit taken.