I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not. These terms are not easily found. You are not told. You have to go hunting for it. I had to click through multiple links to find this explanation and even then it was only found in their 49 page contract of carriage agreement. I am sure I am the only one who did not read through this agreement. And I am sorry I cannot afford an attorney to review it for me. Shouldn't there be some reasonable expectation of the terms? No one is saying it is illegal or that they cannot do what they are doing. We are saying that it is simply not right and they shouldn't be doing what they are doing by our own common sense.
By your logic if they had in this agreement that they could take your first born child at the end of the flight this would be perfectly acceptable because you clicked through to purchase without reading. I would love to see that post. Well you should have read the agreement they had every right to do it. Next time you will know.
These flights are not related at all. This does not cost them money when we do not show. In fact they can then fill those seat with their overbooking that they make and if they cant it is cheaper to fly a lighter plane. We do not even want our money back for the flight we do not show up for. We want to be allowed to board the return flight of the trip that we PAID for.
http://www.delta.com/components/help...eckbox_ref.jsp
http://www.delta.com/components/help...conditions.jsp
http://www.delta.com/content/dam/del...rriage_dom.pdf