Originally Posted by
Often1
1. OP uses terms such as Y & F, but I suspect that he is referring to Economy & First Class cabins, not to fare buckets. It is entirely possible that a fully-refundable Economy ticket costs less than a restricted First Class seat because many businesses pay for flexibility, not comfort.
Right, but they have a "Refundable" option already. AA doesn't let you specify more granular levels of restriction, so there's no reasonable way for people to shop for other levels of restrictiveness.
It's reasonable for AA to offer a refundable coach fare that is cheaper than a restricted first fare, but they're shooting themselves in the foot to not also have a restricted coach fare for slightly less than the first fare too.
(I agree this happens because yield management works in aggregate; it still doesn't mean that it's good for AA when it happens.)