The List Grows Longer & Longer

[whlinder]

BoeingBoy, I'm considering bidding F/O on the A330. The pay difference would not be that much less than A320 Captain and the schedule would permit me to be home more.

[post="193183"][/post]​

Oh super, I can't wait for more great A320 (or will it be A330 then? ) posts telling us how US Airways' transformation plan will result in a CASM less than Southwest's. Of course these posts from the new "USA330Co-Pilot" will come after he told us all how US Airways was going to cut the fleet to 150 single-aisle Airbuses with a jetBlue business plan. I assume that plan would have resulted with a CASM less than jetBlue as well?

unreal.

 

[700UW]

maybe it will be
A330IRO

 

[Light Years]

Yes, now the A330 will stay and be used as an effective tool against LCCs in today's new reality. If you are on the A320, they are going to be parked. Does he like it? No, but it's his own reality...

 

[sfb]

Independence Air attempted to operate with an astronomical cost structure whereas US Airways' cost structure could drop below Southwest's, either with consensual or imposed contracts.

I can't believe anyone would try to slip the second part of this statement by with a straight face. To repeat something that BoeingBoy and I have said almost as many times as you have said there would be an ICT/UCT, US Airways' stage-adjusted non-fuel unit costs would still be higher than Southwest's non-fuel unit costs even if every single employee of US Airways worked for free.

At the end of the last quarter, US Airways, Inc. (not Group) had 283 mainline aircraft; Southwest Airlines Co. had 405 (43% larger, though average seat count is somewhat lower). And yet, in spite of having 43% more planes, LUV's aircraft rent and depreciation for the quarter was $1 million ($151 million vs. $152 million) lower than UAIR's. Landing fees and other rents were equivalent between the two at $99 million -- but Southwest generated 39% more ASM's for that expense. "Other and Selling Expenses" at UAIR totaled $389 million at UAIR, compared to $277 million at LUV -- 95% higher per ASM. The one bright spot: UAIR's maintenance cost was 0.1 cents/ASM lower than LUV's.

To total up the non-fuel, non-labor costs and their differential effect on CASM:
Aircraft rent and depreciation: advantage WN, 0.3 cents/mile
Landing fees and other rents: advantage WN, 0.2 cents/mile
"Other" and selling expenses: advantage WN, 1.4 cents/mile
Maintenance: advantage US, 0.1 cents/mile

These costs, unless management figures out how to fix its huge "other" costs, are unlikely to come down much in this bankruptcy since they were already cut in the first one. So WN starts with a non-labor, non-fuel cost advantage of 1.8 cents/mile, without accounting for the fact that their shorter average stage length and smaller aircraft size should mean higher costs. The increased utilization might get back 0.4 cents/mile. Since we're talking non-fuel unit costs, the only way to get the other 1.4 cents is from labor; 1.4 cents/ASM works out to 33% cuts from labor -- and that's just to reach unit cost parity with WN. And that still doesn't take into account WN's shorter average stage length.