Me, I'm interested in if they had WYCA permission for it. For the DfT to deny a PTE permission to do something when the PTEs are supposed to be responsible for the franchise may become awkward.
There are a lot of routes in the area with "not via Leeds" tickets and "any permitted" tickets, and plenty with more complicated choices, such as between "via Leeds", "via Huddersfield" and "via Penistone". You can, of course, upgrade from one to another if you need to, and I'm sure some people are used to doing just that.
You then get on a Halifax train with a Halifax ticket, and are surprised by how much the guards asks you for.
This isn't like somewhere like Merseyside, where you quite often have a "via Liverpool" ticket, and nothing else available, even if you'd much prefer to go via Warrington instead.