> 4700nm would allows flights from say London to 49 states and all of Canada (as well as the middle east and most of Africa etc)
Isn't that already possible? An ancient 747 can do up to 5300.
Isn't that already possible? An ancient 747 can do up to 5300.
Assuming the XLR can be configured like a regular 321neo, it can reach 244 passengers in single-class configuration, and 200 in dual-class.
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/tour-aa-boeing-787-9-dreamlin...
(the A350 is even larger)
This is a single aisle, small aircraft. It is a big unlock for more point to point, small market to big market flights (and even small market to small market flights).
Flights like NY-FLR without having to transit somewhere in the EU will become an option, at least over the summer, might become an option (if FLR even has customs/immigration).
Looks like in the US, Jet A costs roughly $4/gal (I'm sure airlines pay less, due to volume and such) but that means the plane is burning $6500/hr in fuel.
Very rough guesses on labor: figure the two pilots are making $100k/year, that's $100-200/hour just for them. Cabin crew I'd guess are 50k/year, google says 7 of them, so that's $350-700/hour there (figures are doubled because I seem to recall the true cost of an employee is usually twice their salary?)
So very very roughly, fuel costs are 10x labor costs
Fuel costs still outweigh labour, but a captain on a 767 makes more than double that (~$220,000-$250,000 USD or thereabouts). A first officer would be looking at $120,000ish, I think?
I'm sorry that wasn't good enough for you in a comment where I repeatedly qualified things as "back of the envelope" and "very rough" and so on, and made it clear I picked one particular model out of the blue.
...and the difference between fuel and labor was an order of magnitude, which more than answered the parent commenter.
Also, pilot seniority / pay varies with the route and schedule, not airplane model.
Dude, I was just adding information for the unaware reading this thread, you can unnail yourself from that cross. It wasn’t an attack.
> Also, pilot seniority / pay varies with the route and schedule, not airplane model.
It varies by seniority and model they’re checked out on. Model they are qualified on determines the routes they can bid on - because you recertify every 6 months in simulator on your model, it’s not really possible to maintain a bunch of different active certifications and fly routes with different models routinely, so your model determines your pay. Source: close family member has been a commercial airline pilot for decades and has been actively involved in union negotiations.
It's a big reason why the A380 fizzled out as a program. The era of the very large plane is pretty much over, as long as it has more than two engines.
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Labor is not a particularly large cost, especially if you are in a country that has access to cheaper labor.
Smaller but longer range aircraft (like the 787) have enabled airlines to fly direct on long routes with lower demand (instead of having to make a stop, usually at the airline's hub eg. Dubai for Emirates)