tk's Airliner Marketing Course Module 101. Despite 34 laudatory pages here by drooling swains, why was DC-9 outsold by 737?
Turbojet types, Caravelle and Comet 4B, had costs p.available seat-mile at or below revenue p.ASM, so profitable only with United, on its densest routes, and v. prop. types. (ex-Vickers) BAC in 1960 launched turbofan 111/200 with Freddie Laker's Br.United A/L (whose motive was to barter patriotism for an Oz-style Two Airlines Policy), and pitched it to Viscount/Vanguard launch customer TCA and to Viscount customer KLM, both DC-8 operators. Douglas then launched DC-9/10 by buying Avro/Malton and putting the wing there, thus snaring TCA, and by committing to reliability/Product Support to KLM >DC-8. BAC shilly/shallied over Product Development and lost TA/AN to DC-9/30 on boring costs and response.
Boeing entered last, snaring Viscount/707/720/727 operator LH by tailoring 737-100 to their Spec, investing in long-lead items like landing gear axles in Economic Order Lots to offer fixed price/early delivery, and polishing a Product Support/AOG service that became benchmark. (QF 707-138 same). MD-80/big JT8D did not match the numbers of 737-300/CFM-56/3. MD-90/717 was tenderly euthanised, seen as cannibalising 737NG. Airbus Industrie, learnt, developing an A320 Offer to match 737s'. And it's the Offer, the numbers, that matters, not the friendliness of the product. You buy Volvos, tank-like, 'cos they go on, and on...and on, like the wife. Same in air carriers: Chief Technical Officers do not buy fillies to gleam; Chief Financial Officers buy hacks to sweat.
Last edited by tornadoken; 12th Apr 2009 at 10:14.