Originally Posted by
Jetlikespeed
east coast base makes sense to have reserve on the east coast. If someone bangs sick or fatigued anywhere east of OMA that day there’s no way to get someone to work the flight. Would make sense for operational reliability
They had that, they shut it down.
Reality is people usually don’t bang out mid trip in the east coast, and if they do, they usually do so quickly after landing so it gives the company enough time to fly someone over and recover the next day departure. If not, worse case is a cancellation. Now compare those once-in-a-while costs to having a permanent pilot base costs.