My guess is they are flying a bunch of empty seats lately because of the economy
Not because of the economy, but because September is notoriously slow. This was a great idea to fill those seats and will probably fill them all.
Little solace to the poor schmuck who bought a pass to make a few flights this month but couldn't find seats because of others flying 3 times a day just for the heck of it.
You have absolutely no information to base this statement upon.
There are plenty of seats on all the flights we have looked at. September is just an empty month for airlines. We are not utilizing some scarce important resource, which is what you are incorrectly suggesting.
Not because of the economy, but because September is notoriously slow. This was a great idea to fill those seats and will probably fill them all.
Little solace to the poor schmuck who bought a pass to make a few flights this month but couldn't find seats because of others flying 3 times a day just for the heck of it.