ELI5… Why do airlines offer super cheap tickets instead of leaving the plane empty?

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I’m considering getting one of those cheap tickets you see which is a direct round trip from MSP to Orlando for $60 including fees (it wasnt the date i wanted but it was cheap). How does that make economic sense for the airline? Sure the plane is making the trip anyway, but how can hauling my 200lbs of man meat 1500miles for $30 each direction not more than offset the fuel?

In: Economics

41 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Most of the cost of the flight is actually flying the plane itself. An empty plane isn’t much cheaper for the airline than a full plane. A few dollars per seat in extra fuel costs.

So if they have an empty seat, any dollar above that excess fuel cost is profit. Even if they break even, there’s a possibility the passenger will buy an overpriced sandwich or something.

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