Hell boys, you've got JS looking at SWA as an alternative. You know this is a bad deal when that happens.
What SWA does.
1. Offers a nonrefundable ticket
2. To stand by for another flight, you pay full fare
3. Full fare will never be more than $299
4. If your plans change, 100% of your remaining ticket is applied toward another fare.
What U and the others have done
1. Offers a nonrefundable ticket
2. To stand by for another flight will cost you $100
3. Full fare will rarely be LESS than $299
4. If your plans change and you notify them, all but $100 of your fare will be applied toward another ticket. If your plans change midstream and you can't call the airline - you lose. Gotta buy a full fare ticket. Nothing is applied toward another one.
You want to dictate to business what they "should" pay. Everybody talks about the "premium" business passenger, but they are discovering that the "premium" business passenger is buying non refundable tickets, and hasn't shown any inclination to pay over a thousand bucks to fly from St. Louis to Dallas. Tell a company that is losing money and looking to cut costs that they now have ZERO flexibility on their airfare dollars, and they might just find it worthwhile to find alternatives - from videoconferences to chartering a Learjet. After all, why fly to Denver via Dallas when your actual destination is Vail? Make it difficult for business to do business and you might have just priced yourselves out of a client.