I have found AA at higher, about equal, and lower prices than Delta and United for the same destination/date based on when I was searching. A specific flight's

I have found AA at higher, about equal, and lower prices than Delta and United for the same destination/date based on when I was searching. A specific flight's price depends on so many variables and is not the best indicator of the quality. Most of the times when I look for flights, one or two airlines (with nearby hubs) cost half or third of other airlines. When AA and Delta cost $800 for a flight while United costs $300, it is pretty much a no-brainer. Only rarely do I even see comparable prices ($25-$75 differences) between multiple large airlines for the same flight paths / dates. So even if consumers become more price inelastic, they still do not have enough power to vote with their money because the choices are not always comparable. If every AA flight cost x% more than every United flight, consumers could show United that they care more about service than a few dollars. But since there is such a high variability in the fares, there's no easy way to send a message within the market.