I was musing on that too. I did some (likely flawed) calculations and got a much higher number. But I was figuring training costs, hotels, per diems, medicals.

I was musing on that too. I did some (likely flawed) calculations and got a much higher number. But I was figuring training costs, hotels, per diems, medicals. All that stuff stacks up with a pilot. You can probably also factor in a large component of overhead just managing 12,712 people. Scheduling, logistics, HR, etc, etc. Even if you said it's in the range of $17-30 per passenger, that's pretty significant on many routes - particular high-volume short-haul. You can also probably fit a dozen more seats on the plane.