Regarding the transferability of tickets--people have different views on this. If I pay $1000 for a ticket and something comes up that prevents me from using it, I think it is nearly criminal for that money to go down the drain. Prior to the unabomber scare, I understand you could give the ticket to a relative or a friend (never did do this). While you are correct that this may have been a technical violation of the terms and conditions of the ticket, some might see this as merely gaining some value from your investment--after all, you did pay $1000. I acknowledge that reasonable people could view this differently.

Your comment about "abusing the system" is an intersting one. No doubt, travelers abused the prior system and it was these abuses that led the airlines to require ID. But the flip side of the coin is airlines who abuse the trust of travelers with onerous pricing and fine print. A good number of travelers are fed up with this sort of treatment--the Goldpoints/Valumags incident gives one a glimpse at the lengths some people will go to to circumvent the onerous pricing structures imposed by the airlines. I mean, it is quite easy to circumvent the checkout counter at the grocery store but the overwhelming majority of their customers find the pricing system to be fair and reasonable and thereby voluntarily comply.

The relevance of the revenue generation to the airline is that it explains the purpose of the rule as viewed from the perspective of the airline, and with this understanding a pasenger might interact with airlines more successfully. Its curious that the airlines previously were less than honest about the purpose of this rule, and falsely claimed that it was mandated by the FAA.