Originally Posted by
SOCguy
If there was an 8:30pm departure from SEA, arriving in BLI about 9:10pm, then the aircraft would have to do one of two things: turn and do a flight to SEA, departing about 9:40pm with a 10:15pm arrival, or be done for the day and spend the night in BLI.
As for the former, I suspect the demand out of BLI just couldn't support a flight that time of night. It would need to be mostly O/D passengers as the connecting opportunities are very limited. While the demand is probably there for a SEA-BLI flight at that time, if the plane will go empty on the return it would all come out as a wash.
As for the latter, if the aircraft spent the night in BLI then it would be at the expense of another late night flight out of SEA that would now be without an aircraft to operate it.
You'll see a similar flight schedule out of SEA to the other close-in markets: YYJ, EAT, YKM and as mentioned, YVR.
You are likely correct regarding demand from BLI-SEA at that time of night However, it is the same situation in the morning with the 8:10 AM SEA-BLI route. There are fairly light loads on that route.
Even if QX would move the 11:05 PM flight an hour earlier it would be a huge benefit. The closest border crossing to my house is at Lynden WA which closes at 12:00 AM. An hour earlier would allow me to use that border crossing rather than Blaine or Sumas which are quite far out of my way.