The airline has a duty to fulfil the contract once it has entered into the contract. That duty applies both before and after the payment due date (or payment dates, in many contract).
For example, phone sales can't be final at that time, there has to be a 14-day grace period starting from when the purchase agreement is accessible to both parties (IIRC). Mail-order vendors have to accept returns on most kinds of goods, by law not by convention. Warranties cannot be shorter than a specified limit. Apartment rental contracts cannot ban having children, and so on and so forth.
The restrictions are real, even if most of a typical contract is still free to design and write by the parties.
This suggested change isn't larger than many of those, or groundbreaking. It's just another one like those.
Yes, I know. I grew up in Germany. That these restrictions are common doesn't make them any better.
Or is this another message from a fantasy universe where customers negotiate contracts with major corporations?
If I don't like the Cheeseburger at McDonald's, I just go eat elsewhere. No need to regulate the taste of cheeseburgers, nor exactly how many pickles or what kind of cheese should be on them.
You'd do the same with airline contracts. And people already do that, for the all the conditions that are not regulated.
Basically every airline offers the same terms, conditions and services. If you want to know what's coming industry-wide in 3 years, just keep an eye on what the most regressive is doing today.
(As a customer, I only care about stuff that actually affects me. Checking what's written in the contracts and official terms-and-conditions is at best a means to an end; especially since I am unlikely to go out and actually sue anyone. Mostly, I'll just avoid airline X, if I hear that other people are having trouble with them.)
BA is a perfect example - a few years ago it was an OK airline, but it has chased the policies of RyanAir (even hiring their CEO!) to the point where they are a complete shit show.
You’re pretending there is a market where consumers have input where no such thing exists.
Honestly this sounds like a point to address in addition?
I'm pretty sure I already give a mailing address to airlines upon booking. You could require airlines to immediately -- say, within 5 business days -- mail a check to all passengers after canceling a flight under the stated conditions, rather than letting them wait until each passenger complains individually. Maybe let passengers elect to either receive a check for $X or a travel voucher for $Y > $X when booking.
Currently if an airline drops you, demanding compensation is a cumbersome process but you can get it. So, e.g., if a flight was booked by too few passengers, the airline has an incentive to still honor the booking.
With this system they might as well say "today numbers don't add up so we just don't fly", and cancel with any excuse.