For me, the purpose for flying somewhere rather than driving is to save time, at the expense of paying more for that privilage.

The time savings don't happen so much anymore unless you're embarking on a cross-country flight. It's almost gotten to where one can drive from Denver to Dallas in the same time it would take to fly there, given driving to the airport, waiting in line to check baggage, going through security, waiting at destination baggage claim, arranging a rental car at the destination, etc.

We don't fly much anymore. The equation has tilted such that there is not much benefit to offset the cost. People taking longer flights might still come out ahead time-wise though, but not necessarily hassle-wise.