Will This Bird Fly?

Ok, here is a question...there are several of us going to Vegas early next month. I'm flying on United out of Cleveland due to status as well as most of the people who are going. However there are a few of them that are flying on Frontier. Right now the flight they are on has only 41 seats booked and it is an A320 aircraft. So those who are going on Frontier are all asking me if there flight might get cancelled due to not having enough ticketed passengers. We are leaving on April 2nd; I told them I would put the question out on the board to see what the general consensus was. I told them I have not idea wether or not there flight might get cancelled. I would imagine that Frontier plane has to be in Las Vegas for a turnaround flight to some other destination. What do you think, ever have that happen to you?

 

Part of me wants to say that the plane has to make a run back to Cleveland or another city after landing in Vegas and wouldn't be cancelled. Unless there are mechanical issues, I can't see it not making the trip. Now... if it was one of the regional feeder airlines with a small plane, then it would be a good possibility if the plane was below a certain occupancy level. That's why I typically pick the last flight home for the day. Those planes have to be at my home airport in the morning to service the AM flyers.

 

Airlines, even small ones, don't cancel flights for low passenger loads alone, mainly for the reasons you and Scott pointed out above. That airplane will be needed at its destination to go somewhere else, presumably with more passengers. Where small or lightly loaded flights get cancelled are when there are capacity issues at an airport. For example, assume snow or deicing in Cleveland means the capacity for the runway goes from 50 flights per hour to 20 flights per hour, which flights do you cut? The smaller planes or the ones with fewer people on them, especially if you can consolidate the passengers on "the last flight home." Larger airlines may even substitute a larger aircraft, but don't think Frontier would do that.

Have Fun!

 

We flew last year from Toronto to Winnipeg on a plane that had a 3 and 2 configuration for seats, with 25-30 rows... and only seven passengers.

 

Did you get a window seat? JK.

 

Sounds like a great flight - we mostly fly Southwest and haven't enjoyed a half-full plane since right after 9-11.

 

I flew from Champaign, IL to O'Hare once being the only passenger on a plane with a 50 capacity. Two others were supposed to be on my flight but didn't show. I barely showed in time myself. I didn't know you had to check in 30 min before departure there.

I was forced to sit in the back, and we were delayed a bit to add ballast in the back. Could have been interesting if my flight attendant was slutty. Lol

 

I tried almost every seat!

 

If I were there no extra Ballast needed!

 

Considering it's an LCC, there's a possibility that they might cancel if the turnaround flight at LAS isn't full either. Why waste all that fuel money after all?

 

I booked flights during February for my April trip. This was on Delta out of Memphis. I had heard that they were discontinuing non-stop flights to Vegas and a couple of other cities from Memphis. But, when I had been watching the prices and flights, before I booked, the non-stop ones were available and there were plenty of seats already booked. So, I pulled the trigger when I started seeing prices going up. I was also using a free companion ticket that I get annually from Amex. In early March, I had a message from Delta that they had re-assigned the two tickets (round trip) to different flights. When I researched this, the non-stop flights had indeed been cancelled and they randomly re-booked me onto connecting flights. I am curious as to why Delta booked seats on flights that were scheduled to be discontinued. The times of my original flights were perfect and would have given me more time in Vegas. Now, with the connections, I will be losing several hours of Playtime". I really didn't want to spend time in LAX or ATL, I am going to Vegas!

Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations here. If anybody can be sympathetic, I know you guys are the ones.