If their war chest can sustain six months of losses AND they fly every day as scheduled, eventually they will win some hearts and minds. Whether enough can be seduced away from their frequent flyer points will depend very much on time saved, convenience and consistency.
But if they cancel flights when the loads are below whatever they want, they will lose any goodwill built up meantime. If they have the occasional breakdown, with good
PR, passengers may understand. But they'd better be prepared to throw a substitute airframe at the route or otherwise get people to their destination by the quickest means. Refunding tickets doesn't cut it when people have commitments.
At the first sign of cold feet they are gone gone gone.