Originally Posted by
Dave Noble
It is not in airline's interest to fill the empty seats for free - it is in the airline,s interest to maximise margin.
Except thats not whats going on . OP has clearly paid a fare. Moreover AA is not even comparing the two fares, heck the earlier one could be cheaper.
There are plenty of airlines who do not even offer this - turn up early with an inflexible ticket, then sit and wait ; turn up late and pay the no show fee /change fee/fare difference or even have to just buy a new ticket
Except those two scenarios are not remotely the same.
there is no compelling reason why , in normal operations, the airline should allow the change for free rather than charge for it.
Yes there is, and that is getting willing pax out on an earlier flight with empty seats