dera

Ryanair in Europe disagrees with you.

David Puddy

Ryanair also pays its pilots crap wages relative to those in the US. Ryanair would not be as profitable if it had to pay competitive, US-level wages to attract enough pilots to fly its 500+ 737s. It’s a totally different labor market (they can attract cheaper pilots from certain Eastern European countries) with very different wage expectations. Meanwhile, the A220-300 will offer at least a 20% cost advantage over a 737-800.

Texasbound

Based on what? The 69 that are in service? Ryan air has 341 737-800s. I think SWA flies them as well. Pretty sure they made a profit every year or so. Sorry aircraft is still to new to make that statement.

David Puddy

Seriously? Are you familiar with the newer technology? The 800NG is a gas-guzzling dinosaur with a high CASM. If the 800 is so great, why are SWA and Ryanair trying to replace it with the MAX? Clearly because the MAX has a lower CASM, better range and some cabin enhancements. Have you read Neeleman’s rationale for ordering the A220-300? You should.

And AirBaltic (European low cost operator) and Swiss are both flying the A220-300 and using the airplane on flights up to 6 hours - it seems to be working great for them...

thrust

Thread drift- do you work for Bombardier or are somehow involved with the C-Series/A220 program? Are you an airline pilot?

Almost every post of yours involves something about the A220. That’s completely fine, it seems like a fantastic aircraft and you make a great case for it... just curious why you’re such a big supporter.

David Puddy

How is this thread drift? Breeze will be getting A220s in the next year and its operating economics will enable it to develop new route pairs. I’ve watched this CSeries program since the beginning and I am a believer in the new technology. Both Boeing and Airbus have been sluggish in terms of applying new narrowbody technology - and it shows. I’d love to see the originally proposed Boeing 797/NMA some day too but I am not holding my breath.

No, I don’t work for Bombardier/Airbus - although I wish I did!

ChopperHopper

Assuming:
737-800 189 seats monthly lease = $100 and an average range of 2.950 NM
A220-300 110 seats monthly lease = $200 and an average range of 3.000 NM
How is the A220 more cost effective? Not to mention you can training on the 1 of the 20 Domestic Training Centers that currently own B737NG Simulators.

David Puddy

Your seating assumptions are off. You are looking at the smaller A220-100. The bigger A220-300 can seat up to 150 in an all economy layout (Breeze may offer a flexible/changeable seating arrangement including all economy on some routes) and the geared turbofan engine yields at least a 20% improvement in efficiency than the legacy 737NG and A320. The CASM for the A220-300 is far lower than the typical 737-800.

With all of the legacy 737-800s coming off lease and becoming available (and now going to cargo operators like Southern Air and even Mesa Airlines), why didn’t Dave Neeleman just order cheap, used 737-800s for Breeze? Used 737-800s might be cheaper than a volume order for the A220-300. Because they aren’t designed/optimized and flexible enough for “ultra-low” cost operations. Have you not read his article about why he chose the A220-300? It’s a long article but he has a good section on why he chose the A220-300:

https://crankyflier.com/2020/02/07/d...oss-the-aisle/

If/when Airbus offers the proposed bigger A220-500 with even more seats (Air France and other airlines have expressed interest in it), watch the CASM become even more competitive with more seats to spread costs over.

mike sierra

this Is not correct at all

David Puddy

Really? You think Ryanair would be just as profitable if it paid current SWA wage levels (assuming normal flying with the MAX back in operation and more open flying time for pilots)? I know SWA Captains earning $300K+ and I doubt any Ryanair pilots come close.