PJ2, Barit1 and Will et. al
Thankfully I am retired (though I miss the steam- and coal-powered days which didn't stink up the place like Jet-A). We keep stuffing Airbii and Triple-7s into the farm at about the annual rate we are up to for reasons unexplained, indeed the law of diminishing demand will roll into play. They had to give away tickets on the Electra even after the whirl-mode flutter business was resolved in her last years. (No civilian experience with same but the beefed-up P-3 was/is a delight to drive.) There is a sociological, if not legal, obligation to provide safe passage. Safety comes at a price that is not market driven. Can we roll back this industry to the pre-Thatcher/Reagan days when at least some nods and winks were given to safety both in airframe and flight crew? I don't know. But letting the price return up to 1958 levels and putting regulators back in the responsibility seat might create a higher demand for same. Wealthy travelers tend to demand a higher standard of performance than back-packers on a discount ticket.