SOPS,
It's called a "loss leader".
You have a dozen or so of seats at $0, and the rest at various tiered prices to make a profit in totality. The "add ons" ( baggage, cabin services,etc.) improve the profit.
You can effectively advertise these sets as if there are plenty.
As to the $2.2 million profit, Dennis Choo gets to take half for his share in the company.