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[QUOTE="Townie72, post: 291855, member: 780"]
That's why I used the DC to Europe example. I was trying to filter out all of the crazy US stuff.
 
The cost of US airfare seems to be relatively insensitive to the actual distance flown. It depends more on where you are flying from and to and how much competition there is on those routes. And for some crazy reason, its cheaper to fly on a couple of planes and travel more miles than it is to fly direct and fly fewer miles. It's a market in which price has become decoupled from costs (which have to be linked to per-mile usage of planes, etc)
 
However you figure it, the cost of air travel is going up. And its going up for two reasons. The first is fuel costs. The second is that airlines are reducing the number of flights and charging more for the seats on them. Their profit-maximizing position is to fly fewer passengers and charge more for the seats.
 
As an old Econ Major, this is beautiful use of micro-economic theory. They have drawn the demand curve (How many people are willing to fly at the various price points) and they are playing it like a violin. I don't like the higher prices, although I do admire the quantitative tools they are using.
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