Phil,
What you said is what I have been saying all along. It's the fares, stupid.
We have advocated FAIR fares--like you said something in the middle. No more $99 transcons, but no more $1200 for BUF-ALB. There is a happy medium.
That said, it has not been proven that low fares are profitable-they are necessary marketing tools. Southwest is actually NOT the cheapest in many markets, but they market themselves to give that perceptiion--so they get business that way. Where they DO excel however is with unrestricted fares-their Y fares and high end fares are much lower than other traditional airlines, so it validates my point that if unrestricted fares were more REASONABLE (NOT CHEAP), more people would migrate a little higher (especially business travelers).
I know it's off topic, but again, consolidation and one or two failures would actually make the airline business more stable. The fact is one way or another, we are going to have to get used to paying more.
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