<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SST:
The plain fact is AA gets a benefit from a business flyer who walks up to the desk 90 minutes before his scheduled flight and asks if there's an empty seat on the prior flight, with no downside (AA "sells" a seat that would go unsold, and opens up a seat which was previously unavailable to sell).</font>
How is this situation any different from a businses traveller walking up to the ticket counter and purchasing a seat on a flight that's about to leave? AA knows that flight isn't going to sell out. Yet, they charge you $1000 for the flight because they figure, if you've got to get somewhere NOW, you'll pay it. And if YOU won't, enough people WILL that it's okay if you drive instead.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I'm not going to pay AA $100 out of my pocket, when I can switch to WN, DL or UA and avoid this nonsense (well, maybe just WN given UA's greed).</font>
First of all, WN doesn't permit standby unless you buy-up to their full fare. So they already have a similar policy. Second, I suspect that enough people ARE willing to pay the $100 that this will be a net benefit for AA.