The solution to this is entirely political I am afraid. When airlines were "de-regulated" they lobbied hard to ensure that they were able to rig the market. They have exemption to anti-trust laws, they cannot have consumer protection laws enforced by the states Attorney General's office, they are exempt from state regulation and they are protected from competitors entering the market. They then built up huge monopoly or duopoly hubs and set about screwing the american consumer. They sustain this by paying huge amounts in lobbying fees to politicians.
Ironically, the US which is the stongest advocate of the free market in the world manages it's domestic air market in a less competitive manner than Europe. In Europe, there is less protection for the airlines, more competition, stronger anti-trust regulation and much better consumer regulation.
It will only change when the passengers have had enough...and turn political. The abuse of consumers is similar to that of the financial sector and they believe they are "too big to fail". Sadly, the regulators reinforce this by allowing bankrupt carriers to re-emerge with anti-trust exemption. Every major legacy US carrier has filed bankruptcy at some point. Contrast this with BA, Lufthansa, Singapore, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and other great international carriers.
The US domestic air market is simply not functioning in the passenger interest.
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