Originally Posted by
hhdl
The costs you list do have something in common: they're 99+% the same whether the seat gets filled or not. The marginal cost of an extra body and their baggage across the Atlantic is low-/mid-three figure dollars (that's basically what airlines sell/barter partner one-way J awards to each other for... this accounting of having the FF programs buy awards at not much more the marginal cost also creates the fictional facts/factual fictions about the relative profitability of the metal tubes business vs. the bank customer acquisition business (the God's honest truth: it ain't that simple)).
when viewed individually and in a vacuum, you might be correct, but if award seats were eliminated tomorrow, airlines could fly less flights, burn less fuel, do less maintenance, have less staff manhours, etc. american's miles outstanding are worth billions.