The one that gets me is the suggestion that direct flights are more efficient. Sure, if you go from New York to Los Angeles, but it wouldn't make sense if you were headed to a smaller city away from a major centre.

With millions to be saved, I'm sure airlines do a decent job of working out the most efficient combination of large direct flights and smaller commuter planes. I don't think a 3/4 empty 767 to Fargo is the way to go.

If you want to take it to an extreme, imagine if the post office only delivered your mail point-to-point in the interest of efficiency.