Regarding the Lapland flight,
a) I hadn't seen any advertising for this flight at all. I have seen plenty of advertising previous years. So maybe their marketing spend was to blame.
b) It's only August. Why cancel it so early? People are thinking about bucket and spade trips to the Med, not chilly trips to see Santa. There was still 4 months to sell seats on the flight, at a time when people will be more likely to respond