Originally Posted by
Heathrow Harry
the problem is how many passengers can you get to pay the price needed for lease/purchase of an up-to-date aircraft.
The purchase cost, loosely coupled with DOCs, is the problem, not how many passengers, and at the root of it all is the incestuous nature of the aviation industry that closes (or refuses to open) the door to the multitude of small, innovative companies that could drive down component prices and ultimately whole airframe costs.
Neither does it help that the industry has responded to the many challenges of recent years by increasingly distancing itself from the public upon which it is dependent. That public provides paying passengers but could also offer novel commercial partnerships. The ideas are there, but the welcome is not.