Old Vs New on International

Hi guys,

I was wandering how older aircraft such as a 747 would compare to a newer aircraft such as a 787 would fill in terms of loads…

Will the aircraft age affect the pax load factor very much?

Aircraft age has an effect on the total ORS. But it's hard to determine exactly how many passengers you "lose", because you have an old 747. When that's said, filling a 747 is very hard in general, and not something I would recommend, until you're 100% sure you can fill it up. 787 is a better option in most cases.

 

As long as you operate your old planes in a dedicated company where you don't really care about the image it doesn't really matter. I have operated 50 or so old 757s and A340s across the Atlantic and the age didn't really matter as the very small revenue I lost in loads I gained in ideal wave coordination. The thing is if you are able to efficiently utilize your planes well then new planes are the way to go as they offer the best economics in this case. If you like me operated a Trans Atlantic operation where due to the distances you were not able to efficiently utilize your planes and still connect to waves then cheap planes were the way to go. Considering that I didn't really use the planes much the maintenance was fairly cheap and keeping them on the ground for half of the day barely touched my pocket which it would have with 787s. Long haul is all about connections and ideal wave coordination is the only way to go. In another case, I have operated 100 brand new A380s and 100 brand new A350s which were very much utilized meaning that they were the best way to go in that case. To summarise this remember that efficient utilization is more important than age but remember to never keep your old planes in a new plane company as they will kill your image. 

Being an old plane, it will affect the ORS value and image of the airline. However you could also have the advantage of a lower acquisition cost which could make them very profitable (sometimes even better than with new aircraft!). The issue of demand has to be carefully weighed - the problem is that while a B747 could make very good money when filled, it could also bring crippling losses if you are unable to fill it. I once set up an airline in Argentina and had a lovely experience filling up my B747s in Europe and Australia. Generally, large airports and mega airports situated where your nation has a lot of ties should fill-up a B747. Alternatively, you could graduate and upgrade your plane after you have seen and ensured that you effortlessly fill a standard wide-body plane on a route (especially if the wide-body is being quickly filled up to 3 days ahead). My advice to you is simple: Have fun! There is no winning or losing - just have fun! People often forget that it is a game - play around and try things because therein lies the fun! I often set up companies just to fool around with concepts and I thoroughly enjoy the experience.