About a year ago I also thought the troubles airlines were/are encountering could lead to an increase in the value of hoarded FF miles, and I tend to agree that there are many cases where this can currently be demonstrated. Whether it persists long term, I don't know.

But with Delta at least, with their "pay with miles" option, they've evidently decided they can make money with unlimited "award" access, but only at a Skymile value of 1 cent per mile (actually a little less with fees and a bar on upgrades factored in). Interestingly, with rising fares, this trends toward reduced value for miles earned by flying and increased value for miles earned through partner activities, making the "loyalty" program less about loyalty and more about rebating a fraction of what's often an increased cost for a variety of services.