I don't know if this is the best thread to post this question, so forgive me in advance if it's out of place, but....
Why does AA have crew spending the night at outstations where the plane flies from the hub to the outstation and back half an hour later?
I flew to SUX and DRT. SUX has one flight a day from ORD. I saw the crew leave the airport (instead of just flying the same airplane back to ORD). In DRT, there are two flights a day from DFW, one in the afternoon with a half hour turn, and one in the evening that stays overnight. I took the afternoon flight, and again saw the crew leave the airport instead of flying the plane back to DFW.
For an airline that is on the verge of going bankrupt, why would they do this? That is such a waste of money. If the crew is going to spend the night at the outstation, then just have the plane spend the night as well. Then the schedule will be more convenient for passengers, leaving in the morning instead of making them wait until 3 PM to fly somewhere.
Allegiant's flights go from a hub to an outstation and back 45 minutes later. The crew never spends the night there. It saves money. It's not as convenient for the passengers, but their fares are very low, so "too bad".
Also, in ORD while waiting for my flight to SUX, I noticed that DBQ and SUX leave at exactly the same time, 1:30 PM. Why doesn't AA fly one plane ORD-DBQ-SUX? Spend the night in SUX and go back the same way in the morning. One airplane and one crew can serve two airports. What am I missing?