Air Dolomiti moves toward larger aircraft to lower costs
Thursday July 9, 2009
Air Dolomiti, the Verona-based regional that is 100% owned by Lufthansa and mainly operates feeder flights from northern Italy to LH's hub in Munich, is planning to introduce larger aircraft with lower seat-mile costs.
EN carried 3% fewer passengers year-over-year in the first half and CEO Michael Kraus said it is looking for cost savings, "especially when our yields are coming down." But he told ATWOnline that it is difficult to "reduce costs when you have already a very lean operation." The solution, he said, is using larger aircraft. EN will replace five ATR 42-500s this summer with 66-seat ATR 72s to operate its main routes.
The airline is evaluating keeping some of the smaller ATRs for launching services to new markets. "There are a total of 45 airports in Italy for a country with 59 million people," Kraus explained. For some of these airports, jets are too big. "We see some potential [in the Italian domestic regional market]," he said, adding that up to 15% of EN's business is operated on "our own risk, like new routes from Rimini. This keeps us fresh. We learn how the markets are. We try to find opportunities."
He praised the performance of five new 116-seat E-195s, which he said deliver 20% lower unit costs compared to the BAe146-300s they replaced. "The jets are performing better than we expected," he said. He does not, however, favor other types of E-Jets such as smaller E-170s. "It is better to invest in higher capacity," he noted. "You see it on seat-mile costs. Our benchmark is to compete with the cost bases of carriers like Easyjet." EN's fleet comprises the five E-195s, six ATR 42-500s and eight ATR 72s.
by Kurt Hofmann
ATWOnline
Thursday July 9, 2009
Air Dolomiti, the Verona-based regional that is 100% owned by Lufthansa and mainly operates feeder flights from northern Italy to LH's hub in Munich, is planning to introduce larger aircraft with lower seat-mile costs.
EN carried 3% fewer passengers year-over-year in the first half and CEO Michael Kraus said it is looking for cost savings, "especially when our yields are coming down." But he told ATWOnline that it is difficult to "reduce costs when you have already a very lean operation." The solution, he said, is using larger aircraft. EN will replace five ATR 42-500s this summer with 66-seat ATR 72s to operate its main routes.
The airline is evaluating keeping some of the smaller ATRs for launching services to new markets. "There are a total of 45 airports in Italy for a country with 59 million people," Kraus explained. For some of these airports, jets are too big. "We see some potential [in the Italian domestic regional market]," he said, adding that up to 15% of EN's business is operated on "our own risk, like new routes from Rimini. This keeps us fresh. We learn how the markets are. We try to find opportunities."
He praised the performance of five new 116-seat E-195s, which he said deliver 20% lower unit costs compared to the BAe146-300s they replaced. "The jets are performing better than we expected," he said. He does not, however, favor other types of E-Jets such as smaller E-170s. "It is better to invest in higher capacity," he noted. "You see it on seat-mile costs. Our benchmark is to compete with the cost bases of carriers like Easyjet." EN's fleet comprises the five E-195s, six ATR 42-500s and eight ATR 72s.
by Kurt Hofmann
ATWOnline
