I'm confused.
Originally Posted by
aviator901
Airline is ahead as it made more money on the ticket difference than the seat fee refund.
The airline sells Passenger 1's seat reservation to Passenger 2 at $30, and has to refund the $30 to Passenger 1 (and find him/her a new seat).
How does that benefit the airline? If it had offered Passenger 2 only the seats that were available (i.e. not including Passenger 1's) it would have collected 2 x $30.