With every seat in the plane filled, it was hard to believe the airline is practically bankrupt — until you considered how cheap those seats were.

By this time next year, the US Airways name could disappear. And with it, you can kiss your cheap seat goodbye.

Philadelphia’s major air carrier is bleeding, and looking to get bought. And so it shall. The flight attendant on my flight said she was convinced that United Airlines’ acquisition was a done deal. She’s right. Even USAirways’ CEO has said the airline can’t survive alone. The company is likely to be swallowed just like American Airlines is currently devouring a dying TWA.

With fewer airlines — with less competition — carriers won’t have to auction off an overabundance of seats, because there will no longer be an overabundance.

Having a monopoly means that airlines will make more by flying less, Priceline notwithstanding.

As Scotty would say to Captain Kirk, "I havva got no more power, Captain. She’s gonna blow." Having little power in the face of a monopoly, consumers can expect new airfares to blow a hole in their wallets.

To be fair, a regulated airline industry did keep prices artificially high for big cities like Philadelphia, primarily to compensate for lower fares in smaller markets. Big city travelers paid extra so that the nation as a whole would have more universal service.

But with deregulation, universal service suffered as prices rose sharply in smaller cities. Meanwhile, airlines cut each other’s throats in places like Philadelphia that they needed as hubs.

But not anymore. Philadelphia International, now a USAir hub, will become much less important, more of a whistlestop.

Don’t expect the federal government to step in and fix this, because this is a good thing, the way it’s supposed to be. At least according to an administration that preaches the gospel of deregulation, a Reagan legacy that has people praying for power in California.

So there you have it: less competition, less universal service, fewer choices and higher prices.

Airline stock will soar, able to pass higher fuel costs to consumers at will. And oil companies, already enjoying handsome profits from high prices, will also celebrate.