CHOICE OF AIRCRAFT DEPENDS ON AIRLINES' CHOICE & MARKET NEEDS

By Yong Soo Heong

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Bernama) -- In the world of aircraft sales where
megabucks are involved, aircraft builders usually go to great lengths to promote
their planes, especially when arguments and comments are made on their
suitability.

And they go the extra mile to protect their turf or to make counter
arguments because the stakes are extremely high.

Recently, it was debated in the local media that the operating cost of an
Airbus A380 is lower than a Boeing 777-300ER.

The report was made against the backdrop of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) having
to wait for five agonising years to take delivery of the "double-decker" A380 in
the first half of 2012.

The report said that the A380's sheer size commanded many advantages: They
include that the A380 has the highest structural payload or the sum of the
passenger and cargo weight that the aircraft is able to carry and that the
aircraft can complete long-haul flights with 345 seats to London or Amsterdam
without sacrificing its payload.

The report also drew comparisons with the 747-400 and 777-300ER, both long-
haul planes manufactured by Boeing, and argued that these planes have to
sacrifice valuable payload in order to carry more fuel to complete the flight.

Interestingly, the report gave much debate on the B777-300ER, saying that it
is a mature aircraft as it came into service in 2004 and whose value could
plummet if the rival A350, a long-range, mid-size, wide-body aircraft, enters
service in 2015.

It said that the 777-300ER, a long-range, wide-body twin-engine aircraft,
may still work if cabin passenger comfort is compromised through smaller seats.
This will mean very dense seating configuration.

Last year, MAS signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 15
A330-300s and acquired purchase options for another 10. The A330-300 is a
large-capacity, wide-body, twin-engine, medium-to-long-range commercial
passenger airliner which entered into service in 1993.

These A330s, to be delivered between 2011 and 2016, are said to complement
the airline's incoming fleet of six A380s and 35 B737-800s.

Presently, MAS has 13 B747-400s, 17 B777-200s, 11 A330-300s, three A330-200s
and 37 B737-400s.

According to aviation industry insiders, the choice of aircraft is usually
made by an airline after taking into consideration the aircraft's configuration
like available seating, range, fuel economy as well as the market it proposes to
serve.

Those in the know about the B777-300ER revealed that the aircraft has an 11
per cent lower operating cost per seat ("unit cost") than the A380, and consumes
20 per cent less fuel per seat than the A380.

They also claimed that the B777-300ER costs 33 per cent less to operate per
flight, equating to nearly RM100 million (US$32.25 million) lower operating
costs per airplane, per year. And over a 20-year lifespan, a single B777-300ER
saves nearly RM2 billion (US$625 million) compared to one A380-800.

The industry insiders said that a B777-300ER carries eight tonnes more
revenue cargo per flight than the A380, and has 380 nautical miles more range
from KLIA than the A380, and this is significant when flying to key long-haul
European cities.

They also said the B777-300ER has been the choice of many airlines
worldwide to replace B747 fleets.

Since the launch of the rival A350 in November 2005, the insiders said that
B777 aircraft had captured over 55 per cent of the market compared with the
A350-900 and A350-1000 variants.
-- BERNAMA


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