Route demand unfilled?

[johnlattanzio]

Hi
   can someone explain this to me?

   I have a route with an estimated demand of 150 seats per day. I am
sending one 44-seat aircraft daily and selling on 21 seats daily on average.

    For while I ran two flights per day and the second sold under 20 each day...

    Do I have to fly lots of flights per day to get these people? And at only 20 per flight?

    Yours in confusion

        JL

[Sigma]

No, it's just that they don't know who you are.  You've probably got a very low CI (what people the world over think about your company) and a very low RI (whether or not they know you fly a certain route).

The key thing to recognize about demand here is that that isn't a number of people who are sitting at the airport just waiting to fly whoever throws something into the air first.  That's the number of people who WOULD fly, at standard pricing, and presuming you flew at times of the day that they like, on decent equipment, and if they know about you flying the route and like your company.

Flying small planes it will get expensive and nearly impossible to get a really high CI.  Depending on the era and whatever fuel runs you, small planes may relegate you to a CI somewhere in the 25-50 range.  That's usually sufficient to fill a plane but they're never going to think you're the best airline ever and you'll lose against a very high-CI competitor if there was one.  But RI comes free.  Just fly the route and it'll grow over time, only taking a few months to get to 100.

If you want people to like you even more, a lot more, fly that 44-seat plane there 4 times per day.

[johnlattanzio]

No, it's just that they don't know who you are.  You've probably got a very low CI (what people the world over think about your company) and a very low RI (whether or not they know you fly a certain route).

CI = 26
RI = 67

If you want people to like you even more, a lot more, fly that 44-seat plane there 4 times per day.

OK :-)

Thanks!

[Sigma]

Hm.  That's fairly good RI and CI.  Not great, but enough you should be getting more than 50% LF.

Are the flights at inopportune times (landing after midnight, taking off before 5am) or is someone else offering seats on the route?

[johnlattanzio]

I added a second flight...its too far for me to add more until I can earn enough for another plane   

But the second flight has been 30 seats every day it has run so far. And the first flight has gone up a bit - its running at about 30 since I added the second.

Seems I just need more flights as you said! If only I could afford that extra plane :-)

ha ha!

The flight times are not too bad...

YMHB - YBCG       0500-0940
YBCG - YMHB       1020-1505

and

YMHB - YBCG       1400-1840
YBCG - YMHB       1920-0005*

I know 5am is ugly and a midnight return is not great either...
These probably add to the problem, right?

thanks!

[Sanabas]

I think nearly 5 hours in a high-density seat hurts your LF, too.

[Sami]

and a 5-hr flight in a very small plane (ATR)?

[johnlattanzio]

F27 Mk600....

Yeah....its not ideal I guess :-/