Originally Posted by
EWR764
Or is it an issue where, under normal circumstances, the returns may be caused items that can be MEL'd, deferred or quick-fixed (with a little hustle), and now these warts are being treated as tumors, therefore leading to a higher-than-usual cancellation rate?
It could be. It could also be that many things that ought to be fixed are being deferred until they erupt into things that inhibit operations, often at outstations where it's hard to address them on the run, during a tight turn.
Point is, I don't know if pilots or mechanics are conspiring to mess things up, or if the disconnect is stark enough between maintenance needs and the schedule management insists on flying to wreck things without help from the employees.