Passengers are willing to fork over four dollars for a bottle of water at a sports venue to see their favorite team play and they are willing to pay five dollars for a cup of coffee but when it comes to an airline ticket they won't pay an extra five buck for the ticket.
That extra five dollars used to pay for increased airport staffing, extra parts to fix planes, crew members sitting reserve, mechanics to fix planes, etc, etc, etc.
The continued spiral towards service quality equal to Aeroflot can be laid directly at the passengers feet in their constant quest to achieve the lowest ticket price possible.