I guess my speculation is that most passengers now book online, especially if that's the only place to get the really cheap fares (not sure if TAs get them as well, it's been so long since it's mattered to me; I just know I was helped here on FT that cheap fares are not going to be found on expedia or travelocity).

Also I'd guess most passengers don't actually _pick_ the RJ, or any other plane. They may know they want a jet not a prop, but that's about all.

Or maybe, just maybe, passengers pick the flights based purely on time and connections (getting from point A to point B), and the RJs fill up more than twice as fast as the A319s? And most passengers probably don't have a clue about flying up front anyway.

But this is sheer speculation too. For a really wild guess, how about they think they should "buy Canadian" and pick the Canadian aircraft over the European or American one(s)? Or they remember seeing something bad in the newspapers once about Airbus and don't want to deal with it (forgetting that it was a financial story not a safety one).

andrew