"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
British Airways has admitted flying dozens of "ghost flights" across the
Atlantic, with only pilots and cargo aboard (and no passengers), because
it
doesn't have the crews to staff the flights with passengers:

http://www.emailthis.clickability.co...5276864& pt=Y

Some of the ghost flights are apparently flown just to keep slots at major
airports active, even though every ghost flight burns tons of fuel.

Why don't they just hire more FAs?

It is highly improbable that they are turning away customers who would
otherwise be on these flights. Instead, other flights will be flying at a
higher capacity than they would if these flights were available. So, hiring
more cabin crew to allow these flights to carry passengers would simply add
to the cost of flying them without bringing in more income. If demand rises
to the point where they need the seats on those flights, they will hire more
staff and they won't have lost the slots they need to fly them.

Colin Bignell