If enough people do this, airlines are going to end up cancelling entire flights when everyone switches their tickets.
With a family member who spent many years working for a large carrier, this isn't how the airline industry works (in America, and I assume many other nations). Flights are almost never cancelled except due to mechanical failure, crew fatigue, or inclement weather. The reason being, that same plane taking you from NYC to SFO is also the plane that 130 people are waiting for in SFO to SEA. So, whether it is 100% full or only has 2 people, it still makes the trip. Have you ever been on a plane with only 2 passengers aboard? I have - and you can pick any seat you want! They will even send an empty plane out (with crew, of course).
C) raise the prices of refundable tickets so high that you will go to another carrier at the outset.
Refundable tickets are already that high - almost nobody buys them. They are already 3-5x as high as your average discount ticket and almost solely purchased by business travellers or foreigners who need that flexibility. The 99% of cow-herded casual travellers buy the bottom-of-the-barrel discount tickets, usually from Travelocity and the like, with the most restrictions. Unfortunately, I don't see that changing unless there is a massive uprooting of the current airline industry.
With a family member who spent many years working for a large carrier, this isn't how the airline industry works (in America, and I assume many other nations). Flights are almost never cancelled except due to mechanical failure, crew fatigue, or inclement weather. The reason being, that same plane taking you from NYC to SFO is also the plane that 130 people are waiting for in SFO to SEA. So, whether it is 100% full or only has 2 people, it still makes the trip. Have you ever been on a plane with only 2 passengers aboard? I have - and you can pick any seat you want! They will even send an empty plane out (with crew, of course).
C) raise the prices of refundable tickets so high that you will go to another carrier at the outset.
Refundable tickets are already that high - almost nobody buys them. They are already 3-5x as high as your average discount ticket and almost solely purchased by business travellers or foreigners who need that flexibility. The 99% of cow-herded casual travellers buy the bottom-of-the-barrel discount tickets, usually from Travelocity and the like, with the most restrictions. Unfortunately, I don't see that changing unless there is a massive uprooting of the current airline industry.