One example...

If you back up a bit, the widget didn't used to tell you there was a change fee waiver when the flight was full, while aa.com did.

That's an actual, tangible benefit that a consumer might want, worth real money. You can also even often "bid" on a dollar amount to receive if you're willing to change flights. Google doesn't present that info today.

There are more examples. My perspective isn't that Google should lead you to aa.com, but I do feel it's a bit dishonest that the widget is so large it pushes aa.com below the fold. It doesn't need to be that large.