Originally Posted by
entropy
Ehh, how about no?
20% fuel savings is about 2/3 of the allocated cost of the airframe on the type of segment those planes fly. Fuel is >30% of CASM, and this quarter its going to be even worse. The airframe is 10% of CASM. do the math.
for the 777s:
50k for new seats * 50 seats/ac *20 a/c is $50 million. That's a non-trivial amount of money up front, but if CO can get just another $100/leg out of them, and they fly 1.5 legs a day, that cost is recouped within a year.
Spot on. Put another way, if we assume that CO will depreciate the seats over 5 years, then the impact to the P&L is $10k per year per seat. Breaking this down means that CO need only see revenue increases of $27 per seat per day. I'll let others get into the vaguaries of the number of turns per day and the number of days out of service, but I think the point is made effectively enough.
Originally Posted by
entropy
The seat may be ageing but its good enough for now. I don't think they want to introduce a new product and have the 787 be a 'me too', they want to launch it with the 787. They could however, (and I think this may have been implied with the timing of the announcement), install it without fanfare on the 777 fleet so they are ready at the same time as the 787 comes out.
I guess we will agree to disagree on this one. I guess I don't really understand the magic of the 787 in terms of timing, and why risking a reputation of having a lagging product is worth waiting so that they might have the news cycle to themselves. It isn't like they can be assured someone else won't be announcing an improved product in 3 years. As for launching the new service without fanfare... I will be shocked if CO plays this low-key. They will be shouting it from the rooftops, just like everyone else.
Originally Posted by
entropy
The wine selections are pathetically bad... And the pclub isn't up to int'l J standards (though I understand that is being looked at).
True and true. The wine is so bad that it makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. As for the lounges, compare the typical PC with my lounge experience this weekend with BA:
CPH: Sandwiches were available, along with some sort of potato cake thing. The potato cake thing was surprisingly good. I think I ate 4 and didn't need to bother with the terminal for lunch. Booze was plentiful and the lounge, though small, was right-sized and didn't feel crowded at all.
LHR (T4): Head to the Gate 1 lounge. Again, it was lunchtime, and I have a hard time choosing between pre-made sandwiches, the cold cut station, the various tuna salads and the like, the Asian noodle dish, and the veggie pasta. I opt for the Asian noodles, a pre-made sandwich, and some cheese. The noodles weren't gourmet, but were as good as anything else in the airport, and free is always good. Cooked while you wait. Again plentiful booze, along with more than enough internet terminals and a well-designed space. Free wifi is the only thing obviously missing.
And this was for a short flight, accessing the lounge as an elite. When in J, you can throw in spa treatments and when in F, you can avail yourself of JW Blue and Champagne. So, no, the PCs do not measure up.