Originally Posted by sdsearch

Of course. And many of them may choose another airline the next time fly -- tfree years later!!!!

That's the trouble with most of the leisure market. It's filled with people who fly very occasionally, who pick airlines solely on price with convenience thrown in, and who tend to pick a different airline every time they fly anyway.

While it's true that an airline needs leisure travelers, it's because they need them to fill up the balance of the plane. But the balance has to include enough people (presumably business travelers, but occasionally a few leisure travelers) who are willing to pay higher fares that actually make the money for the airline.