And Freddie Laker. How low was his cost base?
Not low enough!
Laker Airways went bust owing
huge amounts of money
(although there were extenuating circumstances).
I have to say, it is my contention, that whilst Laker was a maverick (The Henry Ford of air travel?), he was somewhat instrumental in destroying any residual pricing power in the industry.
Whenever you decouple the price of a service from its intrinsic cost, you're complicating your business model...
I hazard a guess most reasonable individuals would quite willingly take a less militant view on the protection of their T&C's in a climate where their very job was threatened.
Thankfully this thread shows you're a minority voice....