That’s been my experience too. Even if a restaurant had multiple, sequential vintages of a coveted wine, they aren’t going to be able to justify the cost of pouring a flight from them unless the table is willing to buy all the bottles.
Also in my experience that type of tasting tends to be called a “vertical tasting” or a “vertical flight”.
The several fine dining establishments I have worked at generally would do some kind of predetermined combination of four two-ounce pours of either two whites and two reds, or all whites or all reds, generally presented in front of the customer in order of body and tannic strength from left to right, with the last wines always being the most full-bodied.
This way the customer enjoys their first wine as an apertif or with lighter fare like a seafood appetizer or a salad, and progress through the flight, usually ending up with the fullest-bodied wine with their entree, which tends to be richer/fuller than the rest of the meal.
Flights are a nice way to try some wines without buying/consuming a whole bottle, and a good way to pair your wine and food together. It gives you some versatility.