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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So early. It will fill or they will cancel it.[/quote]

No idea where people got this idea that airlines periodically cancel individual flights if there aren't enough bookings.  It's a very costly thing to cancel a flight- the entire system is a ballet of staff, airplanes going from location to location, cargo, etc.  It may seem like cost savings to cancel a flight if its only half full, but if it hasn't been planned out and managed, it's usually a net cost.  That's why they have an ongoing planning process and schedule overhaul that is done 6+ months in advance.  Of course there are tweaks here and there, but not based on individual flights.[/quote]

Frequent flyer here. They do adjust the schedule or cancel flights if there is low interest. I book my travel very far in advance, like usually 9-11 months ahead, as we have certain company events at the same time every year. If I'm flying on Saturday, I've had flights cancelled or changed many times. I have one next month to our office in LA from BWI on United. I think it was an 8am departure, direct. Then it was changed to a 6am direct departure and the 8am flight disappeared. Then they cancelled the 6am flight and now I'm on a 8am to LA via Denver. The only direct on United from BWI to LA on Saturday is now the evening flight.

On the other hand, I've been one of only 2 passengers on a flight, typically the last flight of the night on short flights from a hub to a non-hub. I think last time this happened, I was on EWR-DCA on United. The FA let my colleague and I have the run of the snack basket as we were the only passengers on board![/quote]

I work in the business. What you see 9-11 months out is probably not going to be accurate. Airlines adjust their schedules much closer in so they can put the planes where they need them based on various forecasts. Demand is one reason, but could be because they need that particular plane to fly a different route due to other planes scheduled to be out for maintenance. Also during holidays/spring break and special events (like the super bowl) airlines will ramp up service on popular routes and reduce it on others which may cause schedule changes due to planes needing to be repositioned. [/quote]

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