Well.. in this case apparently rules are up to the discretion of ticketing managers....I will say no more .... well, other than to say that, if they are going to bend the rules, would it not just make sense to fix the rules ? After all, 1400 quid is not a 50 quid Ryanscare cheapy, why not let people make changes (if there is still availability in that fare bucket on the changed date) for just a change fee ?... oh, sorry, this probably goes back to my US based view of yield management, funny, but I'd rather have a full plane than one with empty seats because the full fare tickets did not in fact sell in the last few days before departure.