What the airlines need

Ok, this has been on my mind for about the last 10 years. I have a beef with the airline industry, and I think they should be regulated for their own good. Now, let's talk about why: First off, the pricing pisses me off. It is so completely random and arbitrary. When you walk into a Burger King, you know exactly much they are going to charge for a Whopper. When you get your mortgage or pay rent... you know how much it is going to cost. Imagine if you went to Starbucks, like you have every morning for the last year, and your Mocha frappalatta thingy is $350. You'd freak. You would tell them they can't run a business like that. Then you would tell them to shove that $350 coffee up their ass. Then, you wouldn't do business with Starbucks again.

That is how the airlines operate though. I remember suggesting this to my brother many years ago and he said the free market works and capitalism is good and stop being such a Democrat. Guess what? They are all bankrupt, I think every single large American carrier is bankrupt.

I want the airlines to work. I want them to make a profit and be happy. I also want a fair idea of what it would cost me to fly to Phoenix at any given time. Here then is my solution. The airlines should be made to charge a certain amount per mile, like a taxi. I don't even care what their profit is, but obviously build in a good one. That way, I could figure out on a calculator what my ticket would cost but knowing how many miles away a city is. Also, the airlines could much better manage and predict their revenue. See, as a tax payer, I am bailing out these stupid companies... and that cheeses me off.