AN ASSESSMENT OF SCOPE OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH EUROPEAN LOW-COST CARRIER USE OF NEXT GENERATION NARROW BODY AIRCRAFT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

This research assesses the economies of scope opportunities that may arise through the use of next generation, long-range narrow body aircraft, namely the 737MAX-7, 737MAX-8, A321LR and A321XLR, by European Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), who have hitherto been reluctant to consider transatlantic long-haul lowcost operations. A proof of concept approach was taken using actual 2021 aircraft schedules and 2018-2019 aircraft utilisation data and was compared with a selection of hypothesised schedules by European-based LCCs using new longer-range narrow body aircraft for long-haul transatlantic operations in addition to regular short-haul sectors with a particular focus on the winter season when average utilisation levels are generally lower than the busier European summer season. It was found that the superior capacity-range at maximum payload characteristics of the A321LR/XLR and 738MAX8 aircraft can potentially increase total aircraft utilisation rates during the quieter European winter season by adding a transatlantic sector to an aircraft’s typical daily European operations to as many as 791 different route combinations to the Americas, some of which may be attractive for winter sun seekers and/or cost conscious independent travellers. It was noted that this type of interworked aircraft solution has its wider advantages and disadvantages e.g. it may only be attractive for existing short-haul LCCs with intentions for a one-class configuration on long-haul sectors, or multiple classes but with much lower levels of service differentiation. Individual constraints and considerations will be different for each carrier, therefore future research should centre on testing the concept within the networks and planning frameworks for individual case airlines