The bean counters would do well to better evaluate the non-monetary benefits of multiple bases (good corporate citizenship, retention of quality crew, reduced training costs), but even speaking solely in dollar terms - you don't have to pay crew as much if they live in the regions! This gets washed out a bit if Auckland is one of your main bases, but having only main-center bases will undoubtedly flow through to higher labour costs overall (per crew member I mean, which would offset the reduced numbers to some extent). You could even offer cost of living-weighted salaries - then pilots who really want to live in the regions could put their money where their mouths are.
Last edited by Cloud Cutter; 27th Oct 2015 at 18:26.