OK. I still stand by what I said
vis a vis airline people watching this closely. (And it's becoming clearer to us unititiated how closely the alert travel agents have been watching, too.) But I acknowledge the concerns you and others cite re the even less initiated. Moreover, I align what you say with the back-to-back ticketing practice, which the airlines inveigh against, but in practice freely allow. Or maybe hidden city ticketing, which shedding the FD is sort of one form of.
Originally Posted by
aktchi
This continues to be a source of misunderstanding, and loose statements from all sides are to blame, so let us review the landscape again.
It is not a matter of airlines finding out, but too much publicity in general. A very good restaurant I know offers a low price on Tuesdays (their weak sales day) and even lower deal on people's birthdays (goodwill, plus they hope friends and family may join). This will obviously not last if people only wanted to visit on Tuesdays or their birthday.
In the present case, the airlines obviously
knew but were content to let it slide as long as:
(1) It was less expensive to sell a few cheap tickets than to fix the problem, renegotiate agreements, and whatever else may be needed. Publicity will create demand for these cheap tickets, threatening the bread and butter sales.
(2) They were occupied with other pressing problems. Publicity makes
this a pressing problem.
(3) The issue was coasting under radar, causing no embarrassment to people and departments. With publicity, they are embarrassed and have to act.