Uneven Cargo Demand on Route Pairs

[leleonad]

Hi, I don't know if this is a noob question but I'd like to know what the community thinks.

Let's say I fly a route in HND-TPE, and the cargo demand looks like this:
HND-TPE -> 5k Cargo Demand
TPE-HND -> 150k Cargo Demand

So if I try to supply 150k cargo for TPE-HND, I will oversupply the HND-TPE route by 145k, which means my CLF will always be around 50% tops.

Even though it will still profit nonetheless, is this the correct way to do it?

[sanabas]

Even though it will still profit nonetheless, is this the correct way to do it?

Yep.

Cargo demand isn't symmetrical in real life, either.

[Tha_Ape]

Absolutely. Cargo prices are adjusted so that a full leg + an empty leg are still enough to be profitable.

However, that won't be the best route of all, and thus I'd recommend to fly an a/c with capacity around 100k and focus on std and heavy cargo. You could still fly something enormous on the route, but then you'll be much more vulnerable to attacks from potential competitors.

[leleonad]

Thanks everyone for the answer 

However, that won't be the best route of all, and thus I'd recommend to fly an a/c with capacity around 100k and focus on std and heavy cargo. You could still fly something enormous on the route, but then you'll be much more vulnerable to attacks from potential competitors.

By vulnerable, is it because once I put 150k then a competitor joins in, the route will be oversupplied thus I have to share the cargo? This is a nice insight, thanks!

[Tha_Ape]

Yep. If you fly a 744F and I come with my 2 763F, demand will basically be divided in 3 and I'll have 2 almost full planes (on the thick leg), while yours will be at 1/3rd.
But even if you don't have any competition, if one of the leg is virtually at 0 (compared to the other), then better maximize your profit (different from total revenue) by aiming at the more lucrative cargo categories.

[TJNUSS]

Let me ask this then... let’s say I have an aircraft with a max cargo capacity of 14000lbs. If the the city pairing in both directions has a possible cargo demand of 60k and current demand of 24k and only a current supply of 0k....meaning no competition...why is my aircraft only only carrying 2400lbs (800 light 1600 standard) one way and 0 the return leg?

[sanabas]

Because your RI is still very low. In 6 months when RI is 100, you'll have a full plane.

And also maybe because you're not supplying as much cargo as you think you are. You only have one large combi plane, and it's supplying less than 10000lbs of cargo on SNA-HOU. It might be able to lift 14,000lbs, but it doesn't have enough space to fit that much.

[TJNUSS]

Thanks for the response. By RI do you mean Route image? If so it’s 100.

Also I guess I don’t understand when in a/c details it says 66 pax 14000 max cargo capacity. Is it saying it’s one or the  other or it’s capable of both at same time? Thanks

[Tha_Ape]

RI is route image, yes.

The "66 pax" includes their luggage, thus yes, you have 14000lbs of cargo capacity. But this is only until a certain range, way before the max range for 66 pax (check payload/range graph for that matter). And it's also volume-restricted.

Just think of it in another way: your a/c might be very powerful and able to lift enormous loads, but without a cargo bay, you carry nothing. And the other way around: you can have a huge cargo bay but not enough thrust to lift even a single parcel.

So always check the payload/range graph at the range you're interested in, check the volume of your hold, etc. And also check ESAD (the question mark right of the timings in the "open new route" or "edit route" page): it might be that your flight lasts longer due to headwinds and thus you're weight-restricted.

[sanabas]

Also I guess I don’t understand when in a/c details it says 66 pax 14000 max cargo capacity. Is it saying it’s one or the  other or it’s capable of both at same time? Thanks

If you look at the plane it says the capacity is 14,176lbs/390cu.ft So that means it can carry 66 pax, and still lift another 14,176lbs.

But cargo takes up space. 390 cu.ft is only enough space to carry 2436lbs of CL, or 6090lbs of CS. It doesn't matter if the plane can lift 14,000lbs of cargo if it physically can't fit.

And the route is 1177NM, so if you hover over the ? in the route creation, you'll probably see ESAD of 1200-1300NM. That is also limiting how much the plane can carry, because while the range says 1350, that is 1350 with 66 pax and zero cargo. If you look at the range chart, 66 pax + their bags weigh 13,823lbs. It can only carry 14,000lbs of cargo/27,000lbs overall for 300NM. After that, the weight of the extra fuel means it can carry less. At 990NM, the overall load is down to 18,633, so you'd only get 4,810lbs of cargo. At 1200NM, it's 15,863, so that's only 2,040lbs of cargo.

Thanks for the response. By RI do you mean Route image? If so it’s 100.

Then I expect the plane is getting 100% LF for cargo. If you manually block the number of pax to 30, you'll be able to offer more cargo. Doesn't look like you can sell 30 pax tickets on that route, so you'll get more money that way, as the cargo will sell.