air-lines cutting fares to fill up seats?

I'll agree with what semper said except for one thing... profit??? I don't think there is a single airline in North America turning any sort of "profit" right now. The seat sales are a sign of desperation and historically a sign of impending bankruptcy. The pay-for-extras policy is a consequence of deregulation. Between now, and even as far back as the 50s, not a lot has changed. People still need to travel far, planes still go fast, planes still need gas, planes still need maintenance, crew still need pay. What has changed is that gas prices have sky-rocketed, passengers have become penny-pinchers, and national vs international policies have changed drastically with North American carriers getting the short end of the stick. These huge costs are somewhat offset by planes becoming more technologically advanced, and more fuel efficient... but that doesn't come close to offsetting all the costs that airlines need to handle.

Its really sad, but its the world we live in. The only entity that can provide stability to this crazy system is the government in the form of airline regulation

No, they are desperate for money. If they did not raise the fare prices and charge you for bags they would all be out of business. The airline industry was not built to fly with these kinds of prices for fuel as we have seen over the past two years.

A perfect example of how the airline industry is like this.

A flight leaves JFK (New York international airport) for a flight to LAX (Los Angeles international airport) with a fairly full flight, and luggage, as well as cargo. The cargo includes organs being shipped for transplants, various vegetables and good being shipped out of South American countries, and lab rats.

Factoring in the pay for the flight crew, fuel, food, and landing fees and taxes, the airline profited only 265 US dollars, and the only reason why they made that much was because of the cargo.

Think of it this way, American Airlines makes 1 penny per passenger it flies, 7 cents per shipment of cargo.

No, they need the money to fuel the planes etc. Fuel is so expensive today and with the credit crunch going on people arent booking seats so airlines are losing millions of pounds.

They're just doing what they can too stay in business, it's a tough world out there right now.