Originally Posted by
Xandrios
I can imagine that it is beneficial for KLM to cancel specific flights. During these situations they will generally be able to do so without having to pay compensation. So for any route that has a high(ish) frequency and reasonable overcapacity it would be financially beneficial to cancel at least one flight. Pax can be spread out over later flights (increasing their load numbers) and when the route is popular enough most pax will still reach their destination the same day. This tactic could potentially save KLM a flight on every popular route - which could easily save them tens of thousands per flight rotation..
I follow your reasoning, and you have a valid point, but there are a couple of "ifs":
- the majority of KL's pax transfer at Schiphol, which complicates the issue. Canceling a flight may not prove to be that big of a money saver if many pax miss their connections.
- How many KL routes have a high frequency and reasonable overcapacity? KL is pretty good at yield management, average load factors are consistently around 90%. Canceling one flight on a busyroute might work, perhaps even two, but on e.g. AMS-CPH (a route I keep a beady eye on for some reason) they canceled four out of seven today. Of the remaining three flights, the first was operated by HV. The canceled flights included the late morning and the early afternoon ones, leaving a 7½ hour gap between flights on the route. Surely lots of pax missed their longhaul connections at AMS, unless KL went to the expense of rebooking them on SAS or Norwegian to AMS, or on other airlines directly to the final destination.
- what's beneficial for KL is not necessarily good for it for its passengers. Even if most pax still reach the airport KL is flying them to the same day, it does not follow that they will reach their destination the same day. Under any circumstances they will arrive later than intended and expected.
Johan