That is exactly corporate efficiency. Less efficient solutions that don't inconvenience passengers include: * maintaining extra crew on standby at each airpor

That is exactly corporate efficiency. Less efficient solutions that don't inconvenience passengers include: * maintaining extra crew on standby at each airport, in case of no-shows by the scheduled crew. * reserving (i.e. not selling) space on flights specifically for such crew transport. * buying seats for them on other airlines, chartering a small aircraft, or other means of transport. * offering enough cash to persuade volunteers to debark. Considering that the alternative is to compensate an entire planeful, the budget for this is a lot higher than 4*$800.