Originally Posted by
pilotchute
In a 3 class cabin, if business and first are full. You could pretty much have nobody in economy and the flight will still make a little money..
An enduring fallacy. It depends what you're charging. There are many "legacy" carriers that rely on "bums in seats", irrespective of class.
It's not smart to propose that any airline would turn it's back on $200 to $300K per flight (income from economy).
Do the math. Flight load factors need to be north of 90% if any airline wants to make a few bucks. No one can afford to fly an empty cattle class.