ROFLMAO!!! Loved your quote! I guess I might not be laughing if I were one who has slept on the plane for four hours, but that's funny as hell!! Good point on the APU- fuel alone for the ERJ APU is 160 pounds per hour. Sounds like someone at Mesa HQ didn't dig too deep on the math, eh?

True, the east coast standups are usually one leg up in the late evening, hotel 5-6 hours, one leg back, done at 0730. Very commutable.

Wouldn't it make more sense to turn off the APU and use the ground power and air??

Electricity doesn't provide cabin heat in airliners. I don't know of any ground heaters. All the ground air units I've ever seen were air conditioners.

got it. so if you're in a cold place, the APU is your only tool.