In an article in today’s Glasgow Evening Times, local MP’s have called for a end to BAA’s Scottish monopoly and for them to sell one of Central Scotland’s airports to a rival to increase competition.
Within the article are some examples of BAA’s airport landing charges and you soon realise why there are so few budget flights and European routes from GLA when you see the amounts being charged.
To land a 737 load of passengers at GLA the cost is £1300. the same flight could land at Luton for £1000, £700 at Belfast and a paltry £400 at Liverpool! There are no figures given for other BAA airports but I’d be interested to know what they are like. Also in the report, GLA insiders say the new US Airways service will most probably go to Philadelphia and that Easyjet will set up a GLA/Paris service soon.
By: mongu - 2nd December 2002 at 18:08
RE: Airport landing charges
Don’t be fooled by the £8/£18 seat prices. This applies only to a proportion of the available seats!
The business models of locos are quite clever and “yield management” is the underlying philosophy. They generate revenue per flight which is not too far off the majors, which combines well with lower operating costs.
The rule of thumb is that if the revenue for a flight is enough to cover the “marginal cost” then the route will be flown. Marginal cost is basically the cost of flying the route as opposed to the cost of the aircrtaft sitting on the tarmac. Certain costs – lease payments, crew salaries, promotional costs etc.. will be incurred regardless of whether the aircraft flies or not. Other costs are marginal, such as fuel, landing fees, overtime/sector pay for staff and so on. As wysiwyg has pointed out, the accountants are taking over 🙂
By: Saab 2000 - 2nd December 2002 at 17:26
RE: Airport landing charges
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-12-02 AT 05:26 PM (GMT)]To land a 737 at Gatwick,according to a newsletter I recieved,it costs £800.
By: T5 - 2nd December 2002 at 17:17
RE: Airport landing charges
Makes you wonder how these low cost airlines can actually survive on the money they make. I was reading some airline reviews the other day after someone flew MyTravel Lite. They paid a mere £8 for the outward journey from a UK airport and then a little more for the homeward journey (£18). If every passenger gets a seat for this tiny amount, very little profit is going to be made. Not forgetting you also have to pay the wages of the Cabin Crew, Pilots, Co-Pilots, fuel etc.
If it costs this much at Glasgow to land a plane, what would it cost at London Heathrow or even Gatwick?
What is the variation in price of say a 737 compared to the much larger 747 (if any)?
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December 2, 2002 at 2:51 pm