couple things i find interesting:
1. The DOT ruled that AA was in violation of the rule by canceling held tickets, even though AA argued that people held these in bad faith. The DOT said that's still not kosher and don't do it in the future. So there is still some hope that they won't do this again--mistake fare or not
2. The DOT decision mentions only the $0 base fare or $1500 discount, but nothing about not being able to upgrade the tickets or earn miles. I wonder if these 2 very important stipulations were relayed to the DOT in the compromise reached, or if they kept that part from them. Because if you think about it, removing those 2 items makes it a pretty decent deal and much closer to what the folks with cancelled tickets had to begin with. If anyone does go forward with an appeal, i would definitely mention these 2 stipulations that make these options pretty worthless