American Airlines has become the expert on nickel and dimming it's customers. I have a flight out of Charlotte and there are seats in the flight that leaves before mine. They told me that my fare precluded me from changing my flight. Once inside the terminal, I tried again. This time I was told I had to pay the full fare in order to change to the flight previous to mine. There are empty seats, but I can't even try to go on standby!! If it weren't for the miles I have with them, which I don't want to lose, I would stop flying AA. Their customer service is awful. I wonder who is lining up their pockets. AA, you might try being nice every now and then. Take a hint from JetBlue or Southwest.