There are can-do and can't do folks in every airline--the cannot folks "can do" great harm. Don't know if we have the full story here (like in the Spirit incident) but the right solution is fix the problem without bureaucratic encumbrances and simply refund the difference to keep the individual happy. Don't blow 100 dollars to pick up a penny. Most of the working level resolutions I've seen have been pretty good--but I could also see something like this happening.
Strangely enough when you do the right thing life goes pretty well.
For the OTHER fines and lawsuits, it comes down to one word: Arrogance.
I'm about as far against anti-trust legislation as anyone can get. I also think folks who can't figure out ticket prices on the internet shouldn't have keyboards and a law to save them from themselves is pretty silly.
But what I think doesn't matter if I'm entrusted to manage a company--and it DOUBLY doesn't matter if I'm entrusted to protect shareholder's money. Just because you can get away with bully tactics in your own pond doesn't mean you can do so elsewhere. Or that when united together even the little fish in your own pond might some day give you a rather brutal schooling on ethics.
So we've found this out on several occasions--that OTHER nation's regulatory authorities don't really give a damn about how important you think you are.
The cargo and internet fines we've paid through our own arrogance would go a long way toward a cost of living adjustment for the flyers. Yet this money is written off without account. One would hope those driving the bus would someday learn from this.