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I won't be showing up for my Sunday night flight, and this blog post is costing you up to $450 in revenues, while only costing me $49

no, it cost you $199.

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No. The initial cost is a sunk cost that he has paid regardless of whether or not he takes the flight. He's already certain that he's not taking the flight, so he has only the options: [ ] Get Refund [x] Attempt to make a point

The first pays out $49; the second $0. The opportunity cost of the second in relation to the first is $49, not $199.

The questionable part of that is the $450 he claims to be costing the airline.

The opportunity cost faced by the blogger is entirely irrelevant to United though. They've gained a real $199 in revenue from him which is all their records will show; he's sacrificing a potential $49 rebate to convince himself he's depriving them of a hypothetical $450 from a most-likely-nonexistant last minute customer.

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