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I'm not sure I buy this. I think it's in the airlines' interests to minimize costs (fuel) by flying as efficiently as possible (maybe slower - maximizing air-time). I would be surprised if in-flight spending increased meaningfully over a flight that is ~15% longer.

Yeah, I strongly doubt that in-flight spending on concessions and duty-free catalogs pays for the jet fuel expended over any appreciable time period during the flight.

I am very skeptical of this. The cost of fuel should dwarf the chance to buy an extra sandwich. Cite?

Given that flight crews have government-mandated work hour limits and most crew members are paid hourly, it would take a lot of WiFi and drink sales to make-up even the labor costs of an artificially lengthened flight.

Is inflight spending that big of a profit center for airlines? I would think that being able to do (for example) 20% more trips full of paying customers in the same span of time would be far more profitable for the airline.