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

So there’s another reason here and that’s weight/can balance. As a guy who designs airplanes for a living, even boeing sized airplanes have to met certain excursion margins and minimum weight thresholds to take off and rotate effectively. If the plane is too empty sometimes they can’t even fly given the airport, runway, and loading conditions. For the airlines its better to just fill seats and have a flight than cancel a flight and have to rebook everyone later.

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