Low profit, low load factor

[fernank3]

Hi,

I really don't understand why my load factor for a given route is really low.

I have started a route from Chiang Mai (Thailand) to Hong Kong. The average demand for that route is about +/- 110.

I believe that this is ideal considering that my airline is a sLCC (super low cost carrier). I am flying the Dash-8Q400 between these routes. My fare is (Y) $115. That's dirt low. Yet my LF is about 13% and I am on the minus for that route.

I can't go any lower because I am already on the red. How can I fix this? The demand is there but people are not booking the flights.

Please help.
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[dagwood]

how long have you been running the route? when a route starts out, the load factor is always low and then builds up slowly over several months. also, if the route is at a time that is not good for passengers, say at 3:00, the load will be lower than at a preferred time of 11:00.
One way to build up the load factor is go to the route image and start an advertising campaign for that route. The bigger the add campaign, the quicker the route will grow. 

[Jintaru]

i don't want to tell you how many times i had to restart on the new world in the last day... I'm sure it would be possible to survive it but the domestic tokyo airport was simply horrible. Lots of high pax routes... tried using 747-400D's but didn't think about the extravagant slot cost, used A300-600's, then 737's. lol then gave up and went back to France where I have had some luck as a domestic/international carrier.

[11Air]

I tried a brave new start in Heathrow with B737's, the right aircraft, and European Routes, like what they did then, and failed.  Restarting in my local airport, EGHI, and there are vacant routes suited to ATR's, don't know yet whether the profit's are actually there but the Regional Airline at a vacant Regional Hub seems to be the way to go.  Survive now, make some money, and maybe get into inter-continental's later when the big hubs have stabilised.

[gazzz0x2z]

Heathrow is not an easy airport. There are other rather tough, like Tahiti Faaa, for radically other reasons(every route is either too long, or does not have enough demand, or both).

And there are the specials, like London City, who are easy...unless someone already settled there and took all the slots, in which case it's nearly impossible. I'm the one who build a fortress here in last GW3, I had something like 75% of the market there, and as much of available slots. First to succeed here is unmovable. It requires creative scheduling(closes at 2200, grrrrrrr), but works well. But, if someone strong is already there, don't go. There's no place for 2 here.

For the original question, I wonder if the Q400 is not "too small for the route". That's often a killer. In previous GW3, I replaced an A148(70 seats) with a tech stop on the Nantes-Le Lamentin route by a direct 737Max7(125 seats), and LF went from 20% to 90%. Chiang Mai Hong-Kong is 882NM long, but I don't know the "too small limit" for the Q400(never flew those babes). But I know the bigger E190 has the same limit around 1200NM, so I would not be surprised. Just, I cannot check in this world.

[mean123]

I often fly the q400s you can do about 900nm in the same country with those before the warning appears but once you cross country boarders I think its around 700nm so that could be the case. Not sure.