Originally Posted by spin88

This is especially so in the SE, once US left, as the network is too thin to retain many folks who have stuck with United, despite all the cuts. So at this point, with many fewer HVFers, running expensive RJs is a big looser. Unable to compete United tries to cut frequency, and hopes that the few remaining HVFers it has (now on three flights on that routing) will now be consolidated on one (or two) and it will suddenly be profitable.

But we all know how this story ends. More of United elites throw in the towel, switch to DAL or AAl (or SW) and then the one (or two flights) become equally unprofitable, and United also looses those fliers on connecting flights as well, system suffers more relative loss of yield.