Location: "como todo buen piloto... mujeriego y borracho"
Posts: 1,720
Why absolutely, positively no Embraers (or Bombardiers) for GF? If it makes economic sense then why not? Of course, I would love to fly the Boeing 747-800, failing that the Airbus A380 is a satisfactory substitute . . . but I don't think these things are in the cards for GF. And from what I understand, the economics of the A318 are not attractive compared to Embraer and Bombardier products.
Does it make sense to be flying around half-full/half-empty A320's or A330's, or having to drop fares just to fill them up? Regional Jets may just be the proper ingredient for GF to open up new routes, cut losses (make profits) and create better job security.
Location: "como todo buen piloto... mujeriego y borracho"
Posts: 1,720
I guess I am somewhat surprised to hear this, as Gulf Air provides for a 20 kilo baggage allowance for Economy Class passengers, which is not particularly generous by global airline standards.
I guess in this case, passengers are (should be) shelling out extra cash for excess baggage. The question is then, does this extra revenue justify the increased costs of operating an aircraft that is not an RJ???
Of course, I am not sure about how much cargo is carrier, which by the kilo often provides more revenue than a pax.
How does Saudia and Royal Jordanian fare with their Embraer Jets?
the baggage issue is not an issue if these aircraft are scheduled for proper routes. the real problem is they would be very isolated on the routes and therefore would have to have extremely good planning which would not happen. doh, dmm, mhd, auh, would be the only routes that i can see them operating on a regular basis. amm, dam, bey and mosy of india would only work at specific times of the year. in the end we probably could use a few of these aircraft but i dont believe GF has the forethought to plan this properly. lets be honest we are having problems with crew and aircraft planning on 2 types
Might this mean now an exodus of RJ staff to BAH to fill the positions of the infidel expats...isn't this the Arab CEO (and with it all the trappings) GF has been but dreaming about until now?
Hope it works out in any case. God knows GF needs every bit of optimism it can scrape.
the baggage issue is not an issue if these aircraft are scheduled for proper routes.
If you remember correctly, Embraer actaully brought an aircraft here a few years ago (about the same time RJ ordered them) and one of the issues (there were more than one) was the baggage/freight capacity using GF's passenger demographics etc.
However, I do agree that sending them to isolated destinations without the required support would be a big problem.
Finally, what is wrong with the 319s and 320s? Yes, certain flights are down right now, but GF certainly is not the only airline feeling the pinch at the moment.
Location: "como todo buen piloto... mujeriego y borracho"
Posts: 1,720
My though behind types like types like the EMB 170/175/190 or the Bombardier C series would be for thin routes and to open up new destinations. I often wonder whether there aren't opportunities to open up additional destinations to Saudi Arabia, Iran or Al Ain.
Naturally, I don't know whether we are limited by bilaterals on additional services. Then again, nor do I know if there is even a market in connecting Al Ahsa, Gassim or Isfahan with the Gulf Air network.
In any case, it seems like our business model is under threat/broken and it is good to reexamine all options from time to time.
We didn't have any "thin" routes till some "genius" decided to dump the dump truck boeings and replace them with?????..(321?? like showing up at a gunfight with a knife)..unlike this Einsteins' last carrier, we cannot just change our name from Gulf Air to "Gulf", erase the debt and keep going..so we are in recovery mode...not from the economy...from "consultants" with their orange ties.who just about destroyed the place...
while others suffer from the economic crisis, gf suffers from that PLUS bad consultantancy crisis PLUS management crisis PLUS many more crises. i mean, what idiotic company wants to add to its woes? aren't things bad enough?
apart from the axing of bn, that really is just the tip of the iceberg. many, many, many more should follow both expat AND local MANAGEMENT. the biggest thing that needs to go is a certain MENTALITY that refuses to be progressive and dynamic in a very dynamic environment.
GF can have any new CEO's chinese, arab, european, african etc. but will never return to profitability unless there is a dramatic cut in head count. For instance Southwest airlines operate with 66 employees per aircraft. Pretty much all other cost factors be same (fuel, lease etc), EXCEPT perhaps average revenue per passenger which is in their case $114 (BD43). Still they come out Ok'ish with a net loss of $20 million for the period ending 31 March 2009
Three months ended
March 31,
---------
2009 2008 Change
---- ---- ------
Revenue passengers
carried 19,759,690 21,504,821 (8.1)%
Enplaned passengers 23,049,990 24,708,615 (6.7)%
Revenue passenger
miles (RPMs) (000s) 16,891,629 17,592,159 (4.0)%
Available seat miles
(ASMs) (000s) 24,171,675 25,193,437 (4.1)%
Load factor 69.9% 69.8% 0.1 pts.
Average length of
passenger haul
(miles) 855 818 4.5%
Average aircraft stage
length (miles) 635 627 1.3%
Trips flown 279,135 294,790 (5.3)%
Average passenger fare $113.97 $112.24 1.5%
Passenger revenue
yield per RPM (cents) 13.33 13.72 (2.8)%
Operating revenue
yield per ASM (cents) 9.75 10.04 (2.9)%
CASM, GAAP (cents) 9.96 9.69 2.8%
CASM, GAAP excluding
fuel (cents) 7.07 6.52 8.4%
CASM, excluding
special items
(cents) 9.62 9.65 (0.3)%
CASM, excluding fuel
and special items
(cents) 7.07 6.52 8.4%
Fuel costs per gallon,
including fuel tax
(unhedged) $1.57 $2.91 (46.0)%
Fuel costs per
gallon, including
fuel tax (GAAP) $1.99 $2.13 (6.6)%
Fuel costs per gallon,
including fuel tax
(economic) $1.76 $2.10 (16.2)%
Fuel consumed, in
gallons (millions) 349 373 (6.4)%
Fulltime equivalent
Employees at period-
end * 35,512 34,793 2.1%
Size of fleet at
period-end 539 527 2.3%
GF can have any new CEO's chinese, arab, european, african etc. but will never return to profitability unless there is a dramatic cut in head count
I agree, but what are you going to do when the locals are protected? The only other "quick" solution is to let the expats go and you know what will happen then and what will hit the fan soon after.
peaple why are you being so negative??????? every company goes through this kind of phase!qatar airways,emirates can have fun now but in a couple of years they will havea bad time!!!!!!well im pretty sure that this "bad phase" will come to an end very soon.Becouse the airlines gettin some new airplanes and hopefully the airline will have better management.Well im not sure that this CEO is up to the standard but who cares the fututre (2013) seems really magnificent for the airline!new planes, new livery hopefully a better CEO!trust me qatar and rest of the airlines are 100 times more currpoted than GF.The only reason theyr doin good is becouse they have money (for now).Well lets wait for the future hopefully its bright!
well iv been into airplane stuff as long as i could remember.well i bet every one heard about hat etihad and American airlines code share stuff ..Any way dont you guys think that James Hogan is somehow stealing ideas from GF (like secret plans)????????? see when hogan went to etihad he ordered the a320s ,the code share and the airport nannies!!!Some thing seems fishy!.I guess Bjorn naf would be hired from any rival airlineso they could get their hands on the secret files and stuff..I know i sound paranoid but it could be true!
Nope, just cannot find "currpotted" in any dictionary. But, think I know what you mean Ugly.
It is, however, a dead thread. 2013 ? GF will be part of Pan Arab Airlines (PAA), jointly operated by Emirates, Qatar and Etihad. Omanair will have a minor part. Hogan will be Corporate CEO. Actually, Hogan will also be COO, Chief Pilot and Head of Cabin Crew Recruitment. RH will be Head of Grooming.
Good luck to Gf though. The RJ Head will be no better than the others. But, even if he was, his hands will be tied, like the others, by the Board. The Board will be tied by Parliament. The Parliament will be tied.oh dear, it just goes on & on. Really, no hope whatsoever.
Caine is, rightly, in the cross hairs right now & is scared of everyone above & below him. Those below him are frightened of the the car was boys !
It will all be better in 2013 as PAA. Might even be called "PanAm" with "Clipper" as the callsign.
be thankful
well im pretty sure that this "bad phase" will come to an end very soon.Becouse the airlines gettin some new airplanes and hopefully the airline will have better management.Well im not sure that this CEO is up to the standard but who cares the fututre (2013) seems really magnificent for the airline!new planes, new livery hopefully a better CEO!trust me qatar and rest of the airlines are 100 times more currpoted than GF.The only reason theyr doin good is becouse they have money (for now).Well lets wait for the future hopefully its bright!
.I guess Bjorn naf would be hired from any rival airlineso they could get their hands on the secret files and stuff..I know i sound paranoid but it could be true!
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