birdonawire
I don't think that you really understand what you are talking about.
The market is a little more complex than you suggest.
Very often there is little "rea"l difference in fares between the locos and the discounted economy cabin of the legacy airlines. (Slim Slag please note that I am backing Globalier's view here and accept that the difference may be statistically significant, but 35% of b*gger all is.....)
There are reasons for choosing one or the other, but they are not as you suggest.
For example, easyJet offer a very good disruption approach, but they don't fly from Heathrow and cannot offer interline connections. So which is the most important point? That will vary from traveller to traveller.
Sometimes people pay more to fly on a loco because they can travel from a more convenient location.
Then again some locos such as Air Berlin can look and feel very similar to a legacy carrier.
Each to their own and for their own reasons, but it isn't about pillows and sympathy.