Originally Posted by
WillBarrett_68
I don't think they'll cancel low-frequency routes either, since these will also be difficult to recover from. EG from MEM I seriously doubt they cut SLC or LAX, since those are both 1x/day and instead they'll look at MEM-ATL which runs like 12+ times/day.
Yes, you will almost certainly see a combination of:
- Ultra-short haul regional jets that can reasonably be replaced by driving (DTW-LAN, ATL-ASG, ATL-CSG, ATL-CHA, ...) with some kind of CS gesture (such as covering ground transportation costs) if the passenger retains the other leg of their journey
- Ultra-high frequency routes that can lose 1-2 flights per day at current load factors without major impact (just less convenient times)
- Non-hub P2P routes that can be replaced with XXX-HUB-XXX flights that have spare capacity instead
- Other regional flights that may be able to route to an alternative (but less direct) hub where the outstation is served by both mainline and regional jets
- Low-yielding routes that do not have a good alternative that will likely result in passenger refunds
I'm sure I'm missing a few but this would be a logical order of operations.
Obviously the other factor here is that tweaking one part of the route network impacts others - crews and planes me be out of position, etc. But with near-real-time network-wide replanning tools that is less of an issue than it used to be.