Originally Posted by
Petpai
The why is simple, money. The total cost to complete the flight v cancel is what you need to remember. You have to pay crew, do you have gate at destination? Will the plane be out of mtx scheduled location? Will crew need hotels, and at what cost? Fuel cost at destination and is there a need for the plane for a return flight, v keeping plane at canceled location to operate a different flight "ontime"? All cost against profit from operating the flight with 50 bags and full load made up of "gowild" or $29 fares? Easier and ofter cheaper to just refund the tickets and tell folks...oh sorry.
I'm not so sure I agree.
First of all, we ALL mention these $29 tickets. Fact is, if you went to flyfrontier.com right now, there might be ONE or TWO of those available - usually on routes that are notoriously empty. Many of the trips are lower cost (around $80-120) but only w/ Discount Den. The tickets are cheaper but I doubt the plane has greater than 50% of the people who are on a gowild pass or got some really low ticket price. We already know we get our $ from baggage fees and drinks. The ticket is just a way to get them on the plane...
Second, the cost of labor really isn't that much higher. PAF trips - even if it's for the entire crew of pilots and FAs - is not really that much more expensive. We operate about 17,000 departures per month. If we had 170 trips that ended up being Premium (that's a PAF trip at each base every other day), that's only 1% that the company is paying 50% or more. It's amazing to me how we as pilots don't realize how cheap we really are. And as Scott Kirby mentioned, pilot salaries are a pass through and are paid for by the consumer. In our case, Delta rates (even after the snap up) would equate to probably about a $10-15 increase in ticket price. It really is that simple.
Third, the costs of cancelling a flight due to crew availability is MUCH more costly than paying a couple of crew members. Refunds are a pain (issuing checks, etc.). Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about their rights and what the NTSB mentions in terms of compensation for tarmac delays, over booking, cancellations, etc.
But lastly, as a pilot, it's not my job to determine how the company makes its money. That's Barry and Brad's job. And, lately, they haven't been doing all that well. We make money but ALL airlines are. Delta posted 16% margin and we posted 9%? Stock holders aren't dumb - they want better.
And so do I.