Why are commuter flights so expensive?

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message Question: WHY do the airlines that fly into
Cedar Rapids insist on flying back and forth with mostly empty planes?
There must be something else in play here -- anyone know?

If half of the rooms in your hotel were pre-paid in advance wether or not
they were being used, would you still care about dropping the price? While
there may be few passengers, 50% of the seats or more are already paid for.
The rest is gravy. Mainline code-share partners and the government's
Essential Air Service contracts keep the commuters in business.

D.