I agree. I was looking at Montreal-Houston recently and was shocked at some of the "lowest" fares quoted (admittedly, the weakness of sterling compounded things somewhat).
I would add that some younger passengers are probably unaware of just how expensive flying, particularly within Europe, used to be.
In North America, People Express' $20 one way fares were seen as absolutely incredible, yet if you compare like-for-like in terms of distance and factor in what $20 would be in today's money, many Ryanair fares are even more amazing. (And People Express operated ancient aircraft, not shiny new ones.)
Put another way, the general public has access to fares which can be cheaper than staff travel fares on legacy carriers. ID80s from London to Madrid on BA, for example, in the 1980s and 1990s cost - if memory serves me correct - around £50 return (and that without APD, which didn't exist). I think the ID80 fare is now close to £100 (not sure what the ID 90 fare is). Trips I've made with easyJet from London to Madrid have been as little as £50 return and with Ryanair £10.
Yes, Ryanair is not perfect but I certainly have little to complain about.