Originally Posted by
jordyn
It's kind of weird that you spent a lot of time explaining how it's totally logical that AA prices flights the way they do and then finish up by acknowledging that there's actually no problem just ignoring all that "logic" and skipping the last flight.
My point was that OP played by the airline's system. In order the cancel the last flight, the ticket needed to be repriced and reissued. That is what he chose to do. His other option was to simply walk out at CLT, and it would have been no issue. Skipping a flight is not against the law.
I have a problem with filing an official complaint saying that it is illogical. It isn't illogical. It is how airfare pricing and issuing has worked since like forever.
I get that AA wants to be able to engage in price discrimination for people flying nonstop vs. connecting
This is a common misconception about why a connecting flight is often cheaper than one segment. It is not because it's nonstop vs connecting. Check flight prices between any random city pair where there are both nonstop and connecting flight options. You generally won't find the nonstops costing more than connecting flights. In fact, the opposite is often true.
Instead, the pricing difference is because of simple supply and demand. Airlines charge what the customer is willing to pay, like any vendor does. This is Retailing 101.