The major airlines represent a relic of the past that have been artificially sustained by the government for far too long. There have been two such bailouts since 9/11, and I think I recall another in the 80s, too (though I can't be certain). The problems are myriad, but I wanted to rant about something that has irked me very recently...
Frequent flier programs... I hate them (as they are)! Case in point, due to my international gallivanting this past year, I've accrued over 50k miles on my United Mileage Plus account. Wishing to use them for a short holiday over Presidents' Day weekend, I attempted to find a use. Unfortunately, they're not interested in letting me use my miles - at least not for 25k miles per ticket. When a flight is available, it's only available for 50k miles ("standard" vs "saver" award), which would require me to purchase the second ticket, at a cost of more than $600. Seriously?!?
The problem is this: if I've flown so much as to accrue enough miles for a free ticket, then give me the stupid ticket. What's with limiting the number of award seats per flight? The limitation only serves to piss me off, and generates ill will against the airline. And it's not like the majors have much good will these days going for them that they can afford to blatantly piss off their customers. It's just patently ridiculous and, worse, it demonstrates an arrogant short-sightedness. They'd rather pass up filling 2 seats than to keep a customer happy, build loyalty, and take slightly lower realization off that flight.
Of course, herein lies the problem. The airlines are commercial, and often publicly traded. They're trying to maximize their realization based on old principles. There could be better ways to generate revenue (as other startups have demonstrated), but because of the prop-ups by the government, they're disincentivized to use them.