It's not only that the load factors were lower back then, it was the fact that we had big aircraft.

I can remember when you could fly an L-1011 or a 747 between LAS and PHX.
There was an AA 767 between LAS and LAX. Lots of heavies between the hubs.
Pretty much all Hawaii flights were 747, DC-10, L-1011, or 767 and now you're lucky to get on a 757.
NW flew DC-10s from SEA to MSP and a 747 from PHX to MSP.
There are so many other examples...
I really miss those days...