Your point is very well put. I've experienced some of these things myself -such as losing $800 on non-refundable flights due to a earlier flight delay by a different carrier. With more complex travel itineraries the importance I place on flexibility rises such that I'll at least consider paying more for refundable or at least date-flexible tickets. This whole concept of paying slightly more to avoid getting much less for your money is becoming more important in the US as some of the legacy airlines introduce basic economy fares similar to what we already expect from the low cost airlines such as Spirit, Frontier or Ryanair.