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Hard to tell who is trolling and who is serious. But the great HKG 8-Mile Mistake Fare of 2012... "in the history books?" The dockets of every court in the land is full of forgotten litigation that had little impact on the litigants and no impact on anyone else. I suspect that this matter - if it generates litigation - will be no different.

And if you think UA will have to spend "a few hours" responding to your complaint, you're deluding yourself. The response will be boilerplate used for all the complaints. A paralegal - maybe even an offshore paralegal working for $2 an hour - will cut-and-paste or mail merge. The administrative cost of handling each complaint will be a couple bucks.

I'm not taking a position on who is "right" or "wrong," and I haven't taken the time to use Google and become a Certified FT Legal Expert. The DOT web site says this or that. Fine. Whatever.

But I have some knowledge, training and experience regarding the larger process. And I ask: Who do you think is more familiar with federal consumer protection regulations for air travel? A frequent flyer with a DSL line or UA's inside counsel? Or, better yet, a frequent flyer or UA's outside counsel on K Street in Washington that specializes in representing the airlines' interests before federal regulatory bodies?

This debacle consumed 95 percent of the oxygen in FT for a couple days, but I strongly suspect that it has consumed 1/100th of 1 percent of the oxygen inside UA. At most. They've got bigger fish to fry. It got kicked to legal for a few hours. They did some research - and probably made some informal phone calls to their "regulators" at the DOT, with whom they surely have longstanding relationships with - and crafted the message that UA Insider posted. Most folks will accept the redeposit-with-no-fee offer. Some will file DOT complaints. A couple may threaten to sue. Everyone will be dealt with in due time. Some bones may be thrown, but not in the form of free tickets to HKG.

Parting shot: The DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division is directed by Norm Strickman. He will be one of the people deciding what federal action - if any - comes about as a result of this. Not judge, jury and executioner, but a man with a lot of influence.

Here is a 1999 article from The Baltimore Sun about Strickman and his division. Read it and ask yourself how sympathetic he will be to a bunch of mileage savants wanting to fly first class to Hong Kong for 8 miles.