Originally Posted by
bbc z
I admit that I don't understand how airlines get compensated for these kinds of ticket switches, and I can understand the (poor) logic of the agent trying to play a hard game of defense to retain revenue.
Most major airlines belong to a company called ARC, the Airline Reporting Commission. The tickets of all ARC members get processed through ARC. If a ticket was issued by one airline but you used it to fly another, when the ticket goes through ARC, the adjustment is made. In the old days, the paper tickets would be appropriately marked - now, of course, it's all electronic.