1. By Peter Horder, Senior Vice President
SH&E Ltd
Brussels, 22 January 2003
Airline Operating Costs
Prepared for:
MANAGING AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE COSTS Conference
2. 1
Aggeennddaa
Introduction
Current Airline Environment
Airline Cost Elements
Indirect and Direct Operating Costs
Overhead Cost Control
Balance Sheet Effects
Reference Sources
Conclusions
3. 2
IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn
Current airline environment
Safety considerations and costs
– Security restrictions
– Insurance implications
Cost reduction versus revenue increases
6. 5
Oppeerraattiinngg Coosstt Coomppaarriissoonnss PPeerr ASSK
Operating Cost Per ASK
LO
OK
GO
VB
NI
TV
BA
TG
Average Stage Length (Km)
(EUR)
0.200
0.175
0.150
0.125
0.100
0.075
0.050
0.025
0.000
FD
LX
COE
EW
FR
U2
Britannia BY
Air 2000 DP
Monarch ZB
Thai Airways
Qantas
Emirates
British Airways
TG
QF
BA
EK
CityFlyer Express FD
Crossair LX
Czech OK
Eurowings EW
LOT LO
Maersk Air VB
Portugalia NI
BY
DP ZB
QF
EK
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000
Source SH&E, AEA, IATA, Form 41
Luxair LG
EasyJet U2
Go GO
Ryanair FR
8. 7
SSoomee IICAO aanndd FF4411 Coosstt Brreeaakkddoownn PPeerrcceennttaaggeess
100
80
60
40
20
0
Braathens
easyJet
Air India
JAL
Continental
Delta (F41)
General & Admin
Sales & Promotion
Passenger Service
User Charges
Depreciation & Amortisation
Maintenance
Flight Operations
9. 8
LLaabboouurr PPrroodduuccttiivviittyy hhaass aann IImppaacctt oonn Coossttss
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
SQ LH CX AC BA SK KL U2 EK AA CO AF GF IB TG TP SV MH IR UL
Source: Annual Accounts, Form 41, AAPA 2001
Revenue per Employee (US$ 000)
485
FR GO QF
10. 9
FFuueell Coosstt ppeerr ASSK
U2
FR
GO
SK
KL
IB
AC
CO
LA
AF
AA
TP
IR
UL
SQ
QF
MH
LH
EK
CX
GF
BA AI
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000
Average Stage Length (KM)
Fuel Cost per ASK (US cents)
Source SH&E 2001
11. 10
Maintenance and Overhaul Costs as
a Percentage of Total Operating Costs
Percentage
of Total
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
8.0
Source: SH&E, ICAO 2000 Financial Data
14.42
10.10
11.03 11.06
13.88
14.55
6.06
15.71
0
Lithuanian
Luxair
Brymon Airways
British European
Braathens
Cityflyer Express
Maersk Air
Silkair
easyJet
13.9
GO Fly
5.04
Ryanair
12. 11
Maaiinntteennaannccee Coosstt ppeerr FFlliigghhtt hhoouurr
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
NH JL CX TP BA TG KL GF GO SQ IB AI AC SK AF CO AA EK
Source: Annual Accounts, Form 41, AAPA 2001
Maintenance Cost per Flight Hour (US$)
U2 FR
13. 12
Coosstt ooff SSaalleess ppeerr PPaasssseennggeerr
Cost of Sales = commissions, ticketing, sales and promotion costs
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
BA NH EK SQ QF SV KL TP AF LH IB CO GF AC TG AA SK CX
Source: Annual Accounts, Form 41, AAPA 2001
Cost of Sales per Passenger (US$)
GO U2 FR
14. 13
Maarrkkeettiinngg EExxppeennssee aass aa PPeerrcceennttaaggee ooff SSaalleess
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
Source: Annual Accounts, Form 41, AAPA 2001
Marketing Expense as % of Revenue
0%
IR TP SV EK BA JL QF TG AF KL GO U2 SK CO FR IB GF SQ
15. 14
PPaasssseennggeerr SSeerrvviiccee Coosstt ppeerr PPaasssseennggeerr
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
JL TP KE TG EK SQ GF AC AI AA SK CO AF IR
Source: Annual Accounts, Form 41, AAPA 2001
Passenger Service per Passenger (US$)
GO U2
16. 15
Whheerree LLoow Coosstt Caarrrriieerrss Acchhiieevvee Addvvaannttaaggee
LCC cost advantage
30% Total crew cost
5% Landing & handling
charges
50% Passenger related
70% Sales cost
60% Others (overheads)
Cost per Available Seat KM
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
European Scheduled LCC Average Diff %
300
250
200
150
100
50
-
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
Sector length
EUR per 1000 ASK
0%
Focus on sector lengths up to, say, 1,500 km driven by
reducing cost advantage
increasing revenue need
decreasing acceptance of lack of service
19. 18
Coosstt Allllooccaattiioonn bbyy Neettwoorrkk
Route A - B A – C A - D Total
ASK 2,200 1,150 2,700 6,050
RPK 1,300 800 1,900 4,000
Yield 10 12 8 9
Revenue 13,000 9,600 15,200 37,800
Variable Cost 8,450 6,240 9,880 24,570
Fixed Cost 4,400 2,875 5,400 12,675
Total Cost 12,850 9,115 15,280 37,245
Margin 150 485 -80 555
Overheads 500
Operating Profit 55
20. 19
Coosstt Allllooccaattiioonn bbyy Roouuttee
Route A - B A – C A - D Total
ASK 2,200 1,150 2,700 6,050
RPK 1,300 800 1,900 4,000
Yield 10 12 8 9
Revenue 13,000 9,600 15,200 37,800
Variable Cost 8,450 6,240 9,880 24,570
Fixed Cost 4,400 2,875 5,400 12,675
Overheads 182 95 223 500
Total Cost 13,032 9,210 15,503 37,745
Margin -32 390 -303 55
Operating Profit 55
21. 20
Whhiicchh Coossttss maayy bbee Coonnttrroollllaabbllee//Avvooiiddaabbllee??
All costs are variable over time
Strategic and Tactical decisions can be taken
– aggressive re-negotiation of contracts
– Hedging instruments
– E,g, fuel, currency
– Outsourcing
– Changes in accounting policies !
Staffing
– Replacement or increased efficiency?
– Overtime
Operating “unprofitable” routes
– More economical flying through different routings, aircraft and airports
– Allocation of indirect costs
– Do you know which routes really are unprofitable?
Levels of service
– Low cost vs. full service model
22. 21
Coosstt Daattaa SSoouurrcceess
Major Sources
– Airline Annual reports
– ICAO
– US DOT Form 41
Other Sources
– IATA
– AAPA
– UK CAA (and other national regulators)
Profit & Loss Statement
– Revenues
– Operating Costs
Balance Sheet
– Assets
– Liabilities
23. 22
Oppeerraattiinngg Coosstt Reeppoorrttiinngg -- IICAO
– Flight Operations
– Flight Crew Salaries, Expenses and Training
– Aircraft Fuel & Oil
– Insurance & Uninsured losses
– Lease/Rental of aircraft
– Maintenance & Overhaul
– Depreciation & Amortization
– User Charges & Station Expenses
– Landing & Airport Charges
– Route facility charges
– Station Expenses
– Passenger Services
– Ticketing, Sales & Promotion
– General & Administration
24. 23
FFiinnaanncciiaall Daattaa ffrroom USS DOTT FFoorrm 4411
Direct Operating Expenses
– Reported quarterly by fleet type
Indirect Operating Expenses
– Reported quarterly by carrier and allocated by ASM or other
appropriate measure to each fleet
Other Finance Related Data Reported
– Traffic Statistics
– Revenues
– General Profit & Loss
– Balance Sheet
25. 24
Diirreecctt Oppeerraattiinngg Coosstt Deettaaiillss –– USS DOTT FFoorrm 4411
– Flying Operations
– Flight Crew Salaries, Expenses and Training
– Aircraft Fuel & Oil
– Insurance & Uninsured losses
– Lease/Rental of aircraft
– Direct Maintenance
– Labour
– Repairs (by outside agencies)
– Materials
[note, more detail than ICAO]
– Depreciation & Amortisation
– Flight Equipment
– Expense of Interchange Aircraft
– Other Depreciation & Amortization
26. 25
Coomppaarriissoonn//Beenncchhmaarrkkiinngg IIssssuueess
ICAO
– Data for all ICAO carriers worldwide
– Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet
But,
– Not broken down by fleet
– Maintenance & Overhaul not subdivided
– Limited data on low-cost/regional carriers
DOT Form 41
– Broken down by fleet
– New data quarterly
But,
– Only for US carriers
27. By Peter Horder, Senior Vice President
SH&E Ltd
Brussels, 22 January 2003
Airline Operating Costs
Prepared for:
MANAGING AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE COSTS Conference