There really just isn’t that much money in the airline industry. It’s just expensive any way you look at it, from landing fees to repainting planes to fuel costs to plane orders…it’s an industry that operates on a very thin margin. Airlines can make more money selling miles and loyalty points to companies like Amex or Hertz than they can flying people in economy. And without first class or business class subsidizing the rest of the plane, prices would skyrocket or most airlines would have to go bankrupt.