<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jetsetter:
In my entire life, I cannot think of a service charge or fee collected by a business that bothers me more than the $100 change fee on non refundable airline tickets. This is particularly true in the computer age.</font>
Sorry, buddy, but I can't agree with you on this one. Why is the ticket cheaper? Because you lose flexibility. They are very upfront about it, telling you that if you change the ticket, it's $100, so it's not like they are trying to sneak something past you.
You've agreed to give up the ability to change your travel plans in exchange for the lower price. Whether it's worth that to you or not is something that only you can decide.
I've also found that in situations where I've had to change my flights, even with the $100 fee to do it, it was still cheaper than paying the higher fare that gave me more flexibility.