After Midnite

[tdf42]

When a mega airline has flights leaving in the middle of the night is it just to add capacity on the route and if so why shouldnt they fly empty? Who takes a 2AM flight to arrive at 4AM?

[fark24]

Fewer passengers are willing to take those flights but the demand is often not zero. And if the route pair has a low cost to operate (often the case for a short route) and has a demand of several thousand passengers, early morning flights can even be profitable.

That said, even if an early morning departure is unprofitable, the return flight may be hugely profitable if it is taking off at a morning peak time. The profits of the return flight could make the itinerary as a whole a very sound use of assets (think of the early morning departure as a ferry flight).

[JumboShrimp]

A flight like that is not likely going to make any money.

[gazzz0x2z]

A flight like that is not likely going to make any money.

With proper pricing, it will make some very small money. And it takes some passengers off the market. It's more to p*** off opponents than to really make money. Rather a negative way of playing...

[MidWorld]

I've made some money on the night flights from Seattle to Vancouver, Victoria to Vancouver and Montreal to Toronto. All of those were >1k routes.

[tdf42]

Yes it is a negative and unrealistic  way of playing. It should be penalized as such.. maybe 2 or 3 pax max ..no one flies at those hours

[banaan]

Yes it is a negative and unrealistic  way of playing. It should be penalized as such.. maybe 2 or 3 pax max ..no one flies at those hours

Why should it be penalized?? It's just another strategy you can use. I operate some night flights from and to AMS on routes that has a high demand. It's not even difficult to make them profitable. Also like someone else already mentioned, one leg can give huge profit if it's leaving on peak hours. Furthermore you can aslo play a little bit with time zones...

Btw in ''real'' life there are a lot of flights departing from AMS in the very middle of the night. All those low cost flights to holiday destinations and believe me, it's bizarre how crowded it can get...

[tdf42]

I would like to think that "real life " isn't such a bad thing and in real life most people do not fly in the middle of the night. Even if you are positioning for an AM flight back to base should the route really make money? It is a strategy strictly for capacity sake.
  So I strongly think 2 or 3  hearty night owls should be the max. Just my opinion.

[alfkan]

It's possible to fly out from base late night then park say 5 hours overnight at destination and then return early in the morning. But should be possible to undergo A check when parked overnight at destination airport.

[Talentz]

I would like to think that "real life " isn't such a bad thing and in real life mot people do not fly in the middle of the night. Even if you are positioning for an AM flight back to base should the route really make money? It is a strategy strictly for capacity sake.
  So I strongly think 2 or 3  hearty night owls should be the max. Just my opinion.

AWS pax are pretty simple compared to RL pax. There are about 12 factors that dictate whether or not a pax will fly with you, a competitor or not fly at all. Given the available competition, its possible that an overnight flight will produce very poor results. Its also possible to draw a full plane. It depends on the availability of the supply, compared to demand.

If the demand for said route is 500 and is served by a single 738 flying 1a-4a, its going to be a pretty full flight because of the current supply availability. However, if that same route of 500 is served by 5 different airlines flying a single 738... and that one airline is still flying 1a-4a... then its not going to be so smooth.

That said further, there's still ways to make that over night flight work. Several factors like RI, CI, aircraft equipment, pax comfort (seating), frequency and of course price all can make even the most ludicrous flight be worth it. 

It depends on how deep your knowledge of AWS really is 

Talentz

[knobbygb]

I recently took a 01:30 am flight from Tallin to Athens. It was perfect for me - I connected to my early morning flight home and was drinking coffee at my desk by 8am.  I could have taken a daytime flight for a little more money (but with a connection) but I chose this specifically for the timing. The flight was almost 100% full, mostly with holidaymakers wanting to maximise their time in Greece. Just one example of how these flights work in the real world.

[tdf42]

Each real life example given here has been in Europe and I understand the outside the box examples. Those who do it I notice are mega carriers with LF btwn 2/3 and 3/4 so they could care less and the yet to be enlightened.

[tarbyonline]

TBF this does happen in Europe as someone else has said.  In the case of my local airport, demand is nowhere near what it would be for AMS or LGW for example.  However, its sufficient enough that they can utilise the aircraft in the middle of the night instead of having to pay to park it somewhere overnight.  Mainly charter flights however, but as we dont have charter operators in this game its a market that exists IRL so why not use it?  Of course, demand will naturally be lower as people arent as likely to want to fly in the middle of the night particularly if they have a choice.  However, its surprising how full these flights can be IRL.

[wapp11]

Yes it is a negative and unrealistic  way of playing. It should be penalized as such.. maybe 2 or 3 pax max ..no one flies at those hours

I would!