CABIN ECONOMICS
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males, whereas current solutions are not acceptable for
people with reduced mobility (PRMs). It should be noted
whilst there are currently no legal obligations to provide
PRM-accessible lavs on single-aisle aircraft, for flights of
seven hours plus, these flight sector times will surely drive
a need to change the aircraft interior configurations to
embrace all passenger profiles.
A long-haul single-aisle aircraft interior configured
with lie-flat business class and economy will drive the
need to enhance the cabin. A business class passenger
migrating from widebody to single-aisle flights due to
schedule preferences, or indeed value, will still have
the expectations to have the space, features and luxury
provided in a similar cabin class of a wide-body aircraft.
It therefore stands to reason that there will be
considerable growth in this aircraft sector, and single-aisle
lie-flat seats (SALFs) will be sought. 12 to 20 business class
seats in such aircraft will add further pressure to a limited
galley space aft of the aircraft, as the two forward galleys
will be concentrating on providing a service offering akin
to that enjoyed by wide-body business class passengers.
The question remains: how big is the market for
long-haul single-aisle aircraft? There are
emerging high-frequency six-to-seven hour
market segments on South America, Middle
East, Asia and Transatlantic routes. The
announcement of the A321XLR that will
be able to fly from New York to Frankfurt
opens the door for greater frequency at
lower operational costs, including fuel,
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014 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
capital acquisition, crew costs and utilisation, maintenance
and landing and ground handling fees. There are currently
10 airlines globally offering SALF seats in their single-aisle
aircraft and we see this trend and requirement continuing.
The US carriers are already geared and functioning in
markets with transcontinental and transatlantic routes;
however, very few carriers based in Europe have followed
the same model. Other parts of the world are also
beginning to fly multiclass long-haul single-aisle aircraft.
It is Counterpoint’s opinion that in the future, 15%
of single-aisle aircraft capable of flying circa 3,000NM
will be designated as long-haul fleet aircraft in either an
all-economy (with seat pitch options) or a business and
economy configuration, or a business, premium economy
and economy configuration.
15% OF THE AIRBUS AND BOEING FLEETS
Single-aisle Airbus and Boeing aircraft in service and
capable of flying circa 3,000NM as of August 2019
amounted to 16,199 aircraft, including stored B737 MAXs.
As the current problems with the MAX are solved,
Airbus and Boeing will continue to supply single-aisle
Visit the Features
section of our website
for analysis of the
‘middle of market’
aircraft sector
“15% of single-aisle
aircraft capable
of flying 3,000NM
will be designated as
long-haul aircraft”
ABOVE: ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL
OPTIONS SUCH AS VIRGIN’S
HYPERLOOP ONE COULD THREATEN
THE SINGLE-AISLE MARKET IN
THE FUTURE
BELOW: IACOBUCCI COLLABORATED
WITH PININFARINA TO DESIGN THE
CAMBIANO SEAT
TABLE 4: MARKET VALUE
Title
Aircraft New current market Multiplier
value (CMV)
A321neo $US54,000,000 2.57
B787-9 $US139,000,000
TABLE 5: ENGINE COSTS
Title
Aircraft Cost/engine LLP cycle Multiplier
A321neo US$190.00 3.05
B787-9 US$580.00
Aircraft Cost/engine flight hour Multiplier
A321neo US$155.00 2.03
B787-9 US$315.00
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