Not sure I buy your umbrage on behalf of your friend here. You clearly state that the change fee is the up fare. You can mix and match terminology all you want but if doesn't change the fact that you're within the 50 day window to flight - why should your friend be allowed to make this change without penalty? It's the difference between discount and no-discount and as your friend knew to buy their tickets early, obviously they are aware that less expensive options require an advance purchase. Not only is it within the window, but your friend wants to change/remove the pit-iad segment entirely which also changes routing and will absolutely increase the cost, in this case significantly due to the type/terms of the ticket.

Your friend can get as upset as they like, they can choose to never fly the airline again but it's entirely without merit as they should know what they purchased along with the associated penalty rules. Crying wolf at this point isn't fair to the airline or the situation - sure its a painful increase in cost, but that's because of the type of ticket they chose to purchase and a risk that is run when you do advance purchasing of your travel itineraries.