To me, AA's best angle for doing this is that they have plenty of open seats to get the pax where he/she wants for the proposed itin. So, rather than burn extra fuel to do the deed, they make a proposition.

Now, then, the reason they could propose this is in the first place is due to combinations of fare buckets, IMO. I mean, come on: Why would they post a circuitous route of lower or equal fare between destinations when the non-stop fare is the lowest to get the job done?

I think we've all seen this (certainly I have on UA) and are used to it. I'd take their deal if I didn't need miles, points, or segments and costs and seating and other factors (such as getting in on time (for a change)) were the same. Who knows what other motivating factors the carrier might have (such as a badly oversold flight on one of the segments).

But, a deal's a deal---so if a pax has a ticket routing that's paid for, and the extra miles and segments are what jingles the pax's chimes, then I guess AA will need to understand that that's what the pax will insist on.

Such is the stuff of of life.