Thanks for that
GGV, whilst I know more than just a bit about Ryanair's modus operandi, I hadn't quite realised some of the complexities you point out.
So yes, whilst normally an airline (especially a lo-co) would try to avoid having multi-million dollar aircraft sitting around doing nothing at all costs, it certainly maikes some sense to have them sitting around if actually operating them would make the losses even greater on certain flights. This works even better if your terms and conditions simply give the customers their money back in the event of a cancellation (especially if the fare was £0.99 or €0.99).
Having said that, even BA combine/cancel when the program has gone to rat**** for operational reasons such as weather/tech problems or yes, sometimes even lack of crews.
It sounds like a good business plan then, but as
Pilot Pete says, there will come a time when the low cost market begins to level out. I know BA have made the headlines two summers running (and again this summer if they really want to nick my pension
sorry for thread drift!), but at least they handle their run of the mill disruption with a kinder face.