Speaking of inflation [1], when Mom and I moved here to South Florida, no longer could my Grandma (Dad's mom) drive drive and pick me up for a summer spent in the suburbs of Detroit [2]. So starting in 1980, I would fly north for the summer. This was before Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers [3] and the airline industry was still heavily regulated; because the prices were fixed, the various airlines had to compete with the only weapon they had left: service.
I remember flights as a kid being not that all unpleasant. Granted, I was much smaller then so I could easily fit in the seats. And they still fed us meals. And I remember that between my Mom and grandparents, they paid around $300 for a round trip ticket.
Adjusted for inflation, $300 1980 dollars equals $708 2005 dollars.
And yes, for $700 dollars you could probably get wonderful service from the airline industry, unlike the cattle car mentality you get now (“be grateful you even get water you ingrates!”).
[2] http://www.detroitfunk.com/