Can you let us know which airlines you're referring to? And did the airlines actually have the pax contact details? (You can't blame an airline for not contacting people they don't have contact details for.)
Various airlines not naming and shaming them however the worse ones are the charter airlines.
It's a good thing that the call centre saw sense that day and did not try to pick a fight with this lawyer over this issue!
Yes, I agree it is good customer service they made that decision. I am not trying to defend that all of Ryanair's practices are good for Customer Service , just trying to make the point that they clearly tell the passengers what they should expect.
Question for you as a lawyer.
If the call centre had argued that the flights were valid.
You booked to get from A to B and then B back to A.
The fact you required X number of hours at B was not part of the contract.
When booking you agreed to their Terms and Conditions.
How would you fight that ?