Personally I think at some stage, passengers will become sick and tired of being treated like cattle. Up to this point, all most people care about seems to be the price of the ticket. But there comes a point when everybody loses patience. We haven't reached it yet but we may not be far away.
As airlines strip more and more away from their product in order to reduce costs, and demoralised staff are unwilling or unable to meet customer service expectations, there may yet be an opportunity for those airlines willing to invest in a proper product. Even if they have to charge more for it.