Transatlantic Operating Costs

BrianBoru00

Just read an article about MOL planning RyanAtlantic....
Does anyone know, how much it would cost to operate a transatlantic flight?
Like factoring in fuel, wages, landing charges etc....

Bessarion

Too many variable factors to include and many of them would be propriety info I think.

aircraft type?
Start up airline, legacy or LCC?
Leasing costs of the a/c?
Salaried vs contract staff?
Current fuel cost?
Fuel burn of the a/c?
Age of aircraft effects upkeep?
Handling charges, inhouse or contract?
ATC/airports charges?
Product onboard and cost per ticket?
Market niche and yield per seat?
Load factors?
Destination?




MoL has been talking about this for several years. No sign of it anytime soon. Longhaul is a different market than shorthaul point to point routes. The current FR model will not work on longhaul. But FR does have the cash reserves and the market clout to make a serious effort at such a venture......if they do......maybe when some 2nd hand A380's come on the market!!!!!!!!

Irish Steve

Depends on the routing, and the type. His longest route at the moment is about 4 Hours, Oslo to Paphos, and the East Coast from Ireland is between 6 and 7 hrs, depending on direction (winds) and exactly where you're going to.

The cost of handling bags would be higher, as most long haul need containers to hold them and keep the turnround time down, and ideally, to maximise the revenue, the aircraft will also carry freight. Loading and unloading that requires specialist equipment to do it, handball isn't an option on long haul for sensible turnround times:D.

That said, 757's are used Transatlantic,and they are handball loading, but they don't carry much freight, there isn't the space. Getting 757's now is also a problem, they're popular as a freight conversion now, so being snapped up for good money.

The costs wil be higher than a shorthaul, there's more involved in handling, but most other costs are proportional. The short haul model won't work, passengers will expect meals of some sort, in flight entertainment of some sort, and better levels of "creature comfort", even if it's only a cheap pillow and blanket for the night flights. While Ryanair might like to have 1 loo on short haul, that won't be an option on long haul, seat pitch will have to be better than short haul, and the scrum at the gate won't be acceptable in the same way, especially for family groups.

Ireland to East Coast could just about be done over and back by one crew, if the turnround was quick, but further will need a crew change and overnight stops for the crews, which is another cost, due to duty time limits. I doubt they'd be allowed to night stop a crew away from home base without paying for it, but then again, Ryanair have managed to change just about every other convention in aviation over the last while, so who knows what they will get away with.

Exact figures will depend on the aircraft type, the number of engines, the size and the airports they operate to, and will take some working out.

If I was Mo'L, I'd look at a specialised Hub operation out of SNN, using 380's. I've just typed up a bit more on the 787 thread, as this one wasn't on line at that point. with the way oil and other things are going to go, that may be the method of the future.