How to make transition from Regional to International Airline

[Jackson4c]

Hi All,

I have several experience in Local (<1000NM) and Regional (1000-2500NM) airline operation/competition. What is make me headache how to migrate to International long distance routes.
Meanwhile those less than 3000NM routes could be based on 4 schedule per day at beginning to 2-5 schedule with overnight schedules. I had difficulties how to reach the International long routes.

Here is my problems:
- My biggest concern: On long routes most of the time not possible attack already occupied routes. Who arrived first on 380pax/day route with Y250/C25/F10 planes those are owning them. How I hell could I make battle here if for 6months my route not profitable and the half traffic not enough for both airline? So how to solve this how arrived first fully occupied the route/city issue? We have hundred/thousands of long destination but just few profitable. When I reach have enough profit for expand international the useful routes occupied.
- We don't have small pax count long distance planes (like in regional "battles" B787-800 could be attacked by multiple routes with E190/195 and those also also could be attacked by much more ATR72 on small distance). 5000-6000NM capable planes like A330/340/B777-200 are big pax count planes, unable scale down.

How to build up the first 7 schedules (I put together more times, so not the technology the question).
- Budget limitations arrive when try to buy 7qty of high cost long range airplane with long time 6 moth time to be those new routes not profitable. If you put market on each 7qty of routes those are also high cost. In regional I was able to use cheaper planes to increase Route Image and just put the higher cost plane later, but no cheap  long distance planes. Also used long distance planes 2million/month lease cost (like B777-200LR).
- "Start buying 7qty of new planes" those are not easy. That is fine, but the older long distance planes have high cost. Meanwhile your local and regional routes getting attacked by competitors (need to get cheaper smaller planes to able react/keep profit). So how to earn enough savings for those? If I dont change anything overtime to able accumulate 7 long distance airplane my profitability meanwhile goes down by competitors.
- Also had difficulty of keeping 7 day/7plane schedules. In regional you have single plane full scheduled situation. And if the site under or overloaded/"overharvested" than you can easily scale up and down to put same schedule to smaller/bigger planes. But in 7day schedule more difficult to replace freed time window if no big enough route on those close distance range (easy to leave part of those week slot free). So moving schedules between 7 day schedules are more difficult (just compare one plane and 7day/7plane schedules on 1000-2500NM range).

[groundbum2]

there's a lot to answer there, but the challenge of long haul is no different to short and medium haul. The first on a route tends to hog it, and scare other people off it. I'm guessing you're at a smaller airfield, say Johannesbourg for arguments sake, and you're finding all the European airlines (EGLL,EDDF,LFPG etc) are already flying 100% of the demand. Because their base is bigger (EGLL is 10 times the size of FAJS) then they make cash quicker and can expand big into LH while you're still in short haul.

One answer for any airline is to start some long haul early on in the game. It's key though for cash flow to have a really strong SH/MH operations that makes cash while LH p1sses it away for 6 months or a year.#

One way to minimise this LH cash drain is obviously to pick routes where you'll get pax. But another way is to NOT start all 7 aircraft in a 7 day schedule at once. Why would you? Instead of 1 plane losing lots of money, you have 7 planes losing lots of money! So patience. Build the 7 day schedule, put 1 or 2 planes on it. Build a different 7 day schedule. Put 1 or 2 planes on that. As they mature and turn profitable, then you build them both out to 7 aircraft each. No need to do this day 1.

I've been known to use a regional jet, with 2 tech stops each way, to travel once a week to destinations 5000nm away that I plan to serve with 330s. But for a year and 100K/week losses the regional jet can build route image to 4 or 5 destinations. Much cheaper.

In terms of capacity. Be sure to choose a LH fleet, as you would SH and MH, that has different sizes within it. So you could start with an a A330-200 then migrate to a A340-600 as the demand grows over the decades, and others BK away!

Don't neglect cargo. When deciding whether to serve a route, look at how many pax you'll get, but also look at cargo, which over long distances can be very profitable. If everybody is using 767s at the max of their range, and they can't carry any belly cargo, and there is 20K cargo each way, use a 330-200 which will give you all the cargo.

Hope this helps,

Simon