Having read the OMAAT post and not the blog post, it's unclear why he didn't go to Orbitz to sort out a change. Did he skip that part from his story because they made clear it was a non-changeable non-refundable ticket?
Originally Posted by
AA100k
I personally book approximately $25 thousand in AA tickets each year, none of which are non-changeable. Most are non-refundable and each time before I hit the purchase button on the website, I recheck my dates, flights, and all other information twice to make sure I don’t end up with an unforced error. I don’t expect AA, even with my status, to save me in the event I screw up or have a change. When you spend a lot of money on an unchangeable ticket you’re playing with fire. The AAgent probably neglected to tell him that he would forfeit the whole itinerary if he skipped the first part and I can see how that could happen but I don’t believe the AAgent was trying to screw him over.
Reminds me of the time I booked a BOS-EWR one way on B6, then booked my return later. Come the day of the return, realized I had booked BOS-EWR twice, so hopped on a train back to Boston. You live and you learn, and it's not always someone else's fault.