Originally Posted by Lehava
I I am not usually a consipacy lover, but have to wonder if this is partially to make the hotels happier with Delta. That extra night means money in the hotel's pockets.
Quite the opposite. The cuts DL is making (to LIT for example) actually reduce the number of crews that are overnighting in LIT. This means fewer hotel stays for DL crews which is one of the prime reasons DL is cutting the late night flights. If you cut a midday flight, you save on crew costs for operating that flight. If you cut a late-night flight, you save on crew costs for operating that flight PLUS the hotel costs and associated per diem.
Also, the late-night flights on many routes have some of the lowest load-factors. Some of the late night flights only exist to get the plane to the outstation, so that it can be there in the morning when loads are higher.