The delight travelers feel when they find cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages is gone when the airline cancels their flights at the airport. Travelers have often wondered why when there is inclement weather outside that their flight is canceled, but many other flights are still taking off. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley recently studied this.
They discovered that half empty flights have a much greater likelihood of being canceled during bad weather than full flights. They also determined that a flight is more likely to be canceled during inclement weather if there are fewer business class passengers on board than other planes ready to leave.
According to the study, when each planes average ticket price is factored in, airlines may be discriminating against flights with lots of travelers who purchased low-priced tickets. The researchers observed that flights on one airline with full business class sections were seldom canceled, whereas flights with fewer business class travelers and full economy class passengers were more often grounded.
Although it is the responsibility of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and air traffic controllers to determine how to make the best use of airspace during weather delays, airlines are frequently given the opportunity to decide which planes may be grounded.
The total money spent by passengers on tickets appears to be a key factor in the airlines decision on which flights to cancel.
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