This is a lesson that large corporations will always assume laziness on the part of the unwashed masses in order to cut costs. An individual doing their homework will put a wrench in their plans.
If we had stronger consumer protection laws, corporations wouldn't be able to hide behind all these obstacles they themselves create to generate profit.
The default should be "customer gets the refund" and the corporation needs to prove the refund should not happen.
Imagine being able to do a one step dispute with a consumer protection agency. The business in question would have 30 days to challenge in small claims court in the local jurisdiction. Consumer gets a letter in the mail about the determination with no effort beyond the initial dispute.
No underfunding the customer service phone lines, hoping to wear down the consumer. No hiding behind a self constructed obstacle course.
The corporate entity can run through a ninja warrior obstacle course to deny a refund.
Laziness is a poor choice of words in this instance - a combination of lack of knowledge about the laws, perception of low chance winning against the goliaths that are airlines and a (probably correct) cost-benefit analysis favoring inaction is more accurate.
