Another last-ditch approach is to take the ticket and see if he can get on another flight. Although govt. tickets are sold at a "discount" they are printed with a "Y" code. It has been my experience that the airline personel do not realize that it isn't a full fare ticket, and will sometimes just take the ticket for another flight (e.g. a more direct flight, to another city, on another airline even.....) Strange but true. So, if all else fails, on the day of travel he might want to get to the airport a little early and check if he can get on a more favorable flight.