Originally Posted by ConnFlyer
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.
But wait the crew hotel costs are a handful of people at a negotiated rate. I was thinking those of us who travel on the flight. Even on a flight of 50 people that is 50 hotel rooms. I think the load issue depends on the area. For those of us who fly to small airports it seems the later flights are fuller because of business people trying to get home after meetings. If you only have 3 flights a day into an airport the first and last tend to be fullest, the middle one is usually more leisure than business flyers.