Originally Posted by Blumie

I think you're explaining it fine, but I don't think it's reasonable for AA to guess what passengers want (even if they do claim to know why we fly). I agree with brp that a majority of passengers are tied to a schedule, so that's the primary factor for reaccommodating passengers. I don't think it makes sense for AA to start factoring in whether it's a paid or an award ticket; no matter what they do, some people will be fine with it and others will be unhappy. So they keep it simple and deal with the consequences.