Low loading factor on route without competition

[Trahaearn]

I'm flying a route from EBBR to LFML on a daily basis with a 219 seat A310-200. The demand is ~185 pax/day and there is no competition on this route. My company image is 30 and the route image is 92. Despite all those promising numbers I'm barely reaching an average 25% load on this route. I can't understand why, can anybody point me in the right direction to solve this issue?

[brad75181]

I just looked at the route you referenced.  Your problem is primarily your flight times.  Always try and keep your departure times (from both airports) between the hours of 0500-2300.  Currently your flight departs at 0000 and pax are not willing to fly this short sector at that time of night 

[Trahaearn]

First of all thanks for you fast reply. If I set the departure at 5 am I can't make the schedule of the plane filled up with flights. Isn't it a good idea to keep your planes in the air for the maximum amount possible?

[brad75181]

Yes you need to have high utilization, but the simulation will punish you for departure times outside 0500-2300.  From the manual..

Flight departure and arrival times, flight length
The departure and arrival times (time of day) affect heavily on the route sales. Most passengers desire to depart during day instead of the middle of the night, and there are also the business traveler's peak hours during early morning and afternoon/evening hours. Generally all departures between 05.00/06.00 - 23.00/23.30 are fine, and the flight should also land between the same hours (or a bit later in the evening). Longhaul passengers are little less picky on the operation hours than people flying short distances. Long flights through the night are also acceptable, as long as the passengers are not made to walk around the airport at 03am...
Length of the flight has also a direct relationship to route sales. This may be translated to aircraft speed; faster flight time equals better sales - but only up to a certain point. In practice this is evident if a slow turboprop flies a route for 3 hours and a jet service takes only 2 hours, and ticket price is the same, it is clear that the faster service is the more desirable.
Technical stopovers also increase the journey duration (and also add an extra uncomfortable landing/takeoff) and have an effect on the sales.
Also be aware that you must schedule your flights properly. Two flights departing two close to each others have no benefits!

For short and medium haul routes, you need to sacrifice fleet utilization for the load factor because the penalty is too large.  With your route image, you would likely see 80% or more LF immediately with better flight times.

[gazzz0x2z]

For short and medium haul routes, you need to sacrifice fleet utilization for the load factor because the penalty is too large.  With your route image, you would likely see 80% or more LF immediately with better flight times.

This

For ranges below 1500NM(varies depending planes), simply don't fly at night. For ranges above, you can make one leg during the night, and back during the day - preferably to the East for the "red eyes" part. For example, in GW3, I currently have a E145 that flies EGPH-UUEE from 2315 to 0610 (back0700 to 0820). Profitable & full. Just, not all routes are so sweet, and, in some british airports, late slots can be all taken...