Yeah, I was strongly in favor of dated tix, but recently have flopped over to the 'open' camp. In recent experience neither BA nor AA were willing to accept a dated coupon for flight on a different date. AA wanted $75 to re-issue them (though nothing was changing except the date and in one case the carrier). At LAX, BA was willing to sticker the for free, at least, but without their desk nearby I'd have been over AA's barrel.

Even more to the point I think the industry economizing has left fewer experienced airline personnel on staff, leaving us to deal with people who have no idea what the rules are and having no idea what privileges come with an OWE ticket. Thus changing a dated ticket can cause great concern, hopefully put right by a call to their rtw desk (should it be open at the moment, and staffed with someone who's heard of OWE), while presenting a ticket that says "OPEN" hopefully screams "you're allowed to change me".

And my humble apologies to christep and the others who told me so.