Here is a question:

At the timeAA charged OP the change fee to book travel on 'date', did AA actually have the ability to provide said service on 'date'?

IANAL, but isnt there a concept of 'bad faith' or 'they willingly sold him something they could not provide'?

Sure, one might say 'reservations doesnt know what operations is planning on 'date'' But as a legal arguement I would be happy to argue the organization as an entiry knew or should have known. It isnt a weather event- it isnt an equipment failure. Their operating certificate prevented them from providing a service and they knew it.

Again, under the usually 'federal, dot, CoC' arguments, an airline might need to alter a schedule. But in this case the core contract, in which AA offered a change fee to fly on 'date', migth be void since AA knew they couldnt fly on 'date'.

At the very least a fishing expedition for discovery into what they knew and when about their ability to offer the service on 'date' would not be fun for AA/Envoy.