Apathy to the plight of airlines

Corporations in the transportation industry, more specifically passenger transportation, has never been capitalistic ventures. They have existed much too long on government subsidies. As a result they are inefficient and ineffective.

It seems to many that the price of gasoline will continue to skyrocket. An effect of this increase of gasoline prices is that it cuts deeply into the bottom line of airlines, to the point where many are cutting back flights, declaring fees for checked baggage, no longer serving snacks, and charging exorbiantly for drinks in flight. And yet they continue to bleed red ink.

My stance towards the plight of the airlines is complete apathy. I recently took a flight with a layover in London Heathrow. The only reason I was even there was because my original flight was cancelled, so the airline had booked me to go through Heathrow. Knowing that it can be impossible to get through that airport, I agreed to a 5 hour layover. Upon getting there however, I got through security rather quickly, and was even in time for an earlier flight. So I went to the counter and asked if I could catch the earlier flight. The person at the desk, while helpful, could do nothing except tell me that I would have to pay a $200 change fee. I declined and decided to wait until the flight was about to close. 20 minutes prior to its departure, I asked again. Once again, I was told that I would have to pay $200. The person at the counter (a different person than the original) stated that the airline would rather fly with an empty seat, than to not charge me $200, switch me to an earlier flight, and have an empty seat available for sale for 4 more hours. If the airlines have such an attitiude about their business, then why should I sympathesize?