SAA decreases capacity on London route
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
SAA decreases capacity on London route
"When asked why SAA was decreasing capacity on its London route, SAA Spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, said the decision was informed by customer feedback “so that we are able to meet the expectations of our passengers”. "
Nice one!
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Johan
Nice one!
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Johan
#2
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Programs: UA 1K, BA Gold, LH/SN/LX Senator
Posts: 449
The A330s they will use have a better onboard product than the A340s.
By taking out BMI, BA has done a fantastic job of turning LHR into an O&D only airport for non-BA aligned airlines. Even some historically BA aligned airlines have been pushed out of the hub model and forced to focus only on O&D traffic. Contrary to popular opinion/wisdom, O&D traffic alone is not everything, and SA has been forced to focus more on producing yield at LHR rather than volumes. While switching to the A330-200 from the A340-600 is a big drop in economy class capacity, it is a significantly smaller drop in business class capacity. So not only do they reduce the CASM but also probably increase the yield considerably.
By taking out BMI, BA has done a fantastic job of turning LHR into an O&D only airport for non-BA aligned airlines. Even some historically BA aligned airlines have been pushed out of the hub model and forced to focus only on O&D traffic. Contrary to popular opinion/wisdom, O&D traffic alone is not everything, and SA has been forced to focus more on producing yield at LHR rather than volumes. While switching to the A330-200 from the A340-600 is a big drop in economy class capacity, it is a significantly smaller drop in business class capacity. So not only do they reduce the CASM but also probably increase the yield considerably.
#3
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Also, does SA have alternative routes where the capacity of the gas-guzzling A430-600 can be put to good use? Beijing, maybe?
Johan
#4
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Programs: UA 1K, BA Gold, LH/SN/LX Senator
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Not quite, they are currently operating once daily A340-600 and once daily A330-200, will now become twice daily A330-200. So it's a loss of 6 J and 89 Y seats per day, or 7% and 19%, respectively.
Currently, the A340-600 will go to New York for the seasonal capacity bump.
Currently, the A340-600 will go to New York for the seasonal capacity bump.