UPANDAWAY wrote Perception is often a problem. Take for example a 737 is broken, out of service. Now we must cxl a flight with a 737.
PHX to DFW is full and that was the origonal route for the broken AC. Ops swaps with a lightley booked PHX to ELP 737 and cxls that flight. Try convinving those passengers that was a real MX issue and not just becuase of a light load!
In response to this I must add: This was an operational decision in light of the broken aircraft. It is unfortunate that the company can not operate out of a major hub with sufficient spare crews and planes to keep schedule integrity. I have experienced firsthand decision making in PHX and witnessed poor ops decisions daily. For instance cancelling a PHX-PHL huib to hub flight with numerous Euro connex. These flights should never be xld under any circumstances due to the high yield revenue. Also another good one, allowing multi 737 flights operate with a broken cargo bin, thus leaving behind updwards of 60-80 bags. So refering back to the original scenario, it was a better option to cancel a lighter load and reccom fewer pax.