Originally Posted by
MatchPoint
The fact is the regional jet industry doesn't make sense when you break it down.
The CR7/9s and E170/175's aren’t that much more efficient than the 50’s and their still much less efficient when compared to all mainline jets. The difference is there are more seats and a dozen or so premium seats to pull the small margins off of. They also allow for increased capacity without increasing flights.
Just examples and you can break them down more if you like. The CR2 burns about 2500 lbs. /hr. at cruise which is about 50lbs/hr./seat. The CR9 burns about 3700 lbs./hr. which is about 48.68 lbs./hr./seat. That’s not much better than the 50. From my jumpseating on AirTran’s 73’s I’ve noticed average burns of around 5000 lbs./hr. at cruise which is about 36.5 lbs./hr./seat. On Delta’s 73-8s I seen burns around 6000 lbs./hr. which is about 37.5 lbs./hr./seat. I don’t have it on me but I know Delta plotted their CASMs for all mainline and all regional jets. Every regional jet had a higher CASM and any mainline jet (DC9 included).
You're exactly right with these numbers. I've done them all too...part of the curse of being a commuter...endless boredom. That being said...there is more to the story than this. Between my home and ORD there are 10 flights a day. All 10 on 50 seaters. That's 500 seats. The first flight is 530 and the last flight is 1030.
The fact of the matter is...people like 1. options(am,pm) and 2. frequency. The 50 seaters give them that frequency. To take it to the extreme...it makes alot more sense to put 10 50 seaters on it throughout the day than just one A380-800 at noon and noon only. Sure the 380-800 would have a lower CASM than all those 50 seaters but the bigger airplanes are better utilized on longer routes. So with a limited number of airplanes it doesn't really make sense to put larger airplanes on really short route. While the CASM is lower...the M is so short that the savings really isnt significant. Whereas...putting one of your limited number of larger airplanes on a longer route makes alot more sense because the M is so long that the savings of the lower CASM really adds up.