Originally Posted by
No_Name
and it goes the other way also. I've had flights that had delays and Delta would let me change to a more desirable time (the 8:30 vs 6:30 in your example). Things happen and sometimes you come out ahead monetarily and sometimes you don't. Getting all angsty about it is not worth the effort, unless that is something that person enjoys.
But the passengers that booked the 6:30 AM flight either (a) really needed to be on the 6:30 AM flight and picked that over the 8:30 AM or (b) weren't willing to pay the premium to begin with - therefore, they valued that "better" flight time less than $200. So it's not a net wash, everyone is still made worse off (except for Delta who captures the benefit).
Schedule changes happen. It's fine. It's not a big deal. But if the schedule changes materially - and let's be clear, a 2 hour difference in departure on a domestic short haul flight is incredibly material - then a refund is warranted. I'm not talking about the +/- 5 minute adjustments of course. But anything over an hour is clearly material. Not just because of people's schedules, but because that is (roughly) the "time cost" of a connection which creates a very different competitive environment for fares.
I really don't see how Delta, or any airline for that matter, would be able to operate in the way some posters advocate without charging significantly higher prices. Increased risk means higher costs, which means higher prices. I prefer to manage the risk of a two hour delay myself and take the reduced air fare as it is a more cost effective solution (from my perspective).
I don't see how giving refunds for a flight change of >1 hour would really create that much difference in terms of costs - this COVID situation aside. It's marginal at best. Airlines would slightly reduce the amount of speculative scheduling they do. They'd potentially do a small fraction fewer scheduling changes. It's not a sky-is-falling cost difference.