Originally Posted by 90minfromJFK-CDG
Seems like there is a semantic issue here. 'Artificial' or not, DH's load factors are unsustainably low and there seems to be no compelling evidence to suggest that load factors or their 'contribution margin' (to steal an accounting term) will increase in the near future. The very little touchy feely part of me wants to see DH survive because of their plucky, stick it to the legacy attitude, but the practical side of me says no way.
Southwest's load factor for September was 67.4%
FlyI's load factor for September was 65.2%
That is not a huge difference in load factor from the airline with the longest consistent streak of profitability. This load factor could be sustainable if costs were in order and the business plan were solid. Unfortunately, FlyI has higher fixed operational costs - RJs, no fuel hedging, costly delay-prone east coast airports (sure they have a high on-time percentage - but look at the 'scheduled time': IAD-BOS is 1:45, on WN STL-OKC is a longer flight but only 1:15 scheduled time.) Most of Southwest's passengers fly non-stop, and when they do connect, they generally tend to be in the same direction (or even the same plane). With multiple 'hubs', this is easy. However, with DH, there is only one hub, and many connections end up backtracking. DH must compete with other airlines that have shorter, and thus less costlier routings. IF FlyI can get its costs down then there may be a future...