Originally Posted by
wairakei15
The 77L will be more profitable on the Auckland route than the 359. ....
....I predict for the foreseeable future the 77L will stay on the AKL route.
I wish we knew more about the traffic and economics of this route. I'll admit to thinking this was a vanity project where economic analysis played a minor part.
It certainly seems a remarkably inefficient way to get lamb chops on supermarket shelves; i'm guessing the NZ appetite for dates doesn't fill the holds on the outward sector.
The passenger capacity/profit argument is predicated on there being demand at fare levels that will support the route, and on that I'm not too sure. That my December trip cost much less than a London Dubai ticket suggests that demand is not quite so rosy as we might think. But there again, the opportunity cost argument is that there's not much alternative use for 24-hours of a large aircraft.
I'm not at all fussed about the equipment used, but I'm hoping your
forseable future stretches as far as December in route existential terms!