Originally Posted by
HOBAY 3
Whilst you're point about the 787 not being optimal for the goldeng triangle is true, it is also true that scheduling 737s up to every ten minutes on a route averaging 87% load factor per month is not optimal either. Having the 787 operate domestically for QF would also allow their 737s to be redeployed to other growth markets.
I don't follow your reasoning. Why would Qantas go out and buy a less efficient and less profitable aircraft to fly one of its most profitable routes? It's one thing to use widebodies to fly tag flights that fill their schedule and help out at peak times; it's another to invest in dedicated planes that would be less profitable.
Surely the better answer would be to buy larger capacity planes that are built for shorthaul flying, like the 737-10, A321 or 797 - which seems to be Qantas' plan. Or, if there are a stack of other unserved routes to just buy more 737s?
(But, as has been said above, QF and VA's current profitability is largely the result of capacity restraint, so not sure that I'd want to dump a stack of extra planes into the shorthaul market just yet.)