What is RPK and ASK?

[Atlantische Zeiler]

I can't find where it says what it is.  Thanks

[brique]

Its two ways of measuring how efficient your route is : if you enter either term in the search box (top right of screen), you'll get an awful lot of hits on threads on the subject.. some very detailed...

[Sanabas]

Revenue passenger kilometres, Available seat kilometres.

It's safe to ignore them completely.

[brique]

but its a good sign when they go green... I like green type... 

[Atlantische Zeiler]

Thanks, but why are my load factors at 25%? My ask and rpk are green

[brique]

Thanks, but why are my load factors at 25%? My ask and rpk are green

Eck... its kinda complicated : that's why I suggested you read the threads found in the search, as there are accountancy-literate types who can explain it far better than most.

its just that when those factors are in green, it tends to mean you are going in the right direction as far as pricing is concerned for route profitability : that doesn't mean passengers like the price though.

Your load factors can be at 25% for many reasons : a new route has low RI, passengers dont know its there, so fewer get on it. Your CI may be low, on international routes, the passengers like to see a higher CI than for local ones; Your prices may be too high, that puts them off; Your aircraft may not be ideal for the route, too small, perhaps; If you have competition, their CI/RI/aircraft/prices may be better than yours, so they are getting the passengers, not you. Or there may just not be the demand there to fill the seats on the aircraft you are using.

[Sanabas]

Thanks, but why are my load factors at 25%? My ask and rpk are green

The fact they are green isn't a good sign, it isn't a bad sign. It's mostly meaningless. Ignore them. They aren't helpful, and trying to pay attention to them will only cause confusion.


If your loads are only 25%, common culprits are some combination of:

-The route is new

-There is a lot of competition

-You're oversupplying existing demand (or just equalling it on a new route)

-You're flying in the middle of the night, or have put two flights too close together

-You've increased prices, or the competition has decreased them

It's the first two that are usually the main problems. The first one fixes itself. If loads are only 25% once RI is 100, then you're probably making some bad decisions somewhere.


I just had a quick look at the externally viewable stuff for your Beginner world airline. You've got a 150 seat plane on a ~150 seat route, with no comp. So the issue is purely that the route is brand new. 4-5 months, you'll be getting more or less full planes on all 4 routes if no comp appears.

[Atlantische Zeiler]

My route images are all 4... they are somewhat new

[brique]

That would seem to be the reason then for the LF25 : you got some options there : do some route image marketing to push it along a bit quicker; lower your prices for a while to encourage more take-up ; or just let it build itself as it will the longer you fly the route.

[brique]

The fact they are green isn't a good sign, it isn't a bad sign. It's mostly meaningless. Ignore them. They aren't helpful, and trying to pay attention to them will only cause confusion.

I disagree to a point, but not enough to worry over, but its true, nothing will fall off your airline if you ignore them, providing you keep an eye on everything else.

They do have one very handy use though, use them to sort your route management page, and your destinations will tend to clump together as group, which is handy for price-tweaking when they are otherwise scattered across a load of route numbers. Okay, not what they were intended for, but it works for me...

[Atlantische Zeiler]

Thank you very much, but how much should I be spending on marketing overall, if I just started

[Curse]

Have you read the FAQ in this forum (sticky thread) as well as the FAQ in my signature?


As for marketing I'd start with "My base city and nearby cities only" and check all four possible boxes if I plan to expand quickly.