Return fare Glasgow - Benbecula £350 on the day - and the aeroplane leaves half empty.
Given there is little in life so perishable as an aircraft seat once the the doors are closed, would it not make more economic sense to flog them off cheap at the last minute?
Nope, airlines have been there and done that and worked out that it's better to sell the seats in advance. I recall the little band of regular travelers to Amsterdam who used to queue up with their standby tickets, confident that there would be a seat for them as the aircraft was rarely full. The company stopped selling standby tickets and guess what?; the same little band still flew with us but were no longer subsidised by the rest of the passengers.