Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Quick Question

  1. #1

    Question Quick Question

    About how many flights a day can a 737 make going from Washington to Charlotte? My dad has trouble believing I can fit in 6 one-ways per day for my airline.

  2. #2
    Senior Member gonzalu's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    The Bronx, New York
    Posts
    6,028
    From D.C.? If a 24hr day with a half hour turn around at each end, I would say 10 :-)
    Manny Gonzalez
    Thrust Images | General Photography | R.I.P. Matt Molnar 1979-2013
    BRING BACK THE KJFK/KLGA OBSERVATION DECKS

  3. #3
    Program Coordinator
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Washington
    Posts
    2,077
    The flight time is about 1 hour. With one hour on the ground between segments and one plane going back and forth starting at 0600 you could complete five roundtrips by 2359. With 40 minutes on the ground you could come close to completing 6 roundtrips by 0020 the next morning. If you started at 0540 you could do it by 2359.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by jerslice View Post
    The flight time is about 1 hour. With one hour on the ground between segments and one plane going back and forth starting at 0600 you could complete five roundtrips by 2359. With 40 minutes on the ground you could come close to completing 6 roundtrips by 0020 the next morning. If you started at 0540 you could do it by 2359.
    But isnt 3 round trips from 0600 to 2200 very possible?

  5. #5
    Senior Member moose135's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Long Island, NY
    Posts
    8,067
    Quote Originally Posted by Runway1R View Post
    But isnt 3 round trips from 0600 to 2200 very possible?
    Easily

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    123
    One of your future competitors uses block times of 1:18 +/- for CLT-DCA and 1:22 +/- for DCA-CLT. Their block times vary by time of day (due to traffic) and by season (due to weather and winds--I didn't look up any schedules for the winter, though). I'm sure their block times are based on the historical average time for that flight. The Airbus times are a little lower, CRJ times a little more.

    A round-trip block time of 2:40 and an hour on the ground at each end would be a good conservative number. Keep in mind that DCA has noise restrictions on flights between 10pm and 7am, so you really only have 15 hours to play with, so conservatively you can do 4 round trips with one airplane. If you figure two planes, one taking off from DCA at 0700 and the other scheduled to land at DCA at 0700, you could definitely do 8 trips.

  7. #7
    DCA? I was planning on operating out of IAD.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    123
    Quote Originally Posted by Runway1R View Post
    DCA? I was planning on operating out of IAD.
    Well...looks like you're flying out of DCA now!

    Sorry about that--my mistake. The times are about the same, the shortest being 1:16 and the longest 1:27 CLT-IAD. IAD-CLT the times run from 1:22 to 1:44. Of course, at IAD you don't have a curfew to worry about that I'm aware of. These are based on RJ's, so your times might range 5 minutes less or so, but they're in the ball park.

    If you want times for other markets, I'd suggest hitting the websites of the airlines serving those markets and finding out what the average block times are.

    In the example above I suggested one-hour turn times, and that suggestion holds here too. You might be able to cut it to 45 minutes depending on the size of the airplane. Anything more than 100 seats though, I'd go with an hour. In years past, airlines were able to do it in less because people didn't carry on their baggage. These days though, it seems to take forever to get people off an airplane. Predominately business markets are going to be quicker in the boarding and deplaning since the business travelers generally have a system down and can get on and off in a relative hurry. Leisure markets are going to take longer because Mom and Dad have to get their suitcases, and then little Johnny and Susie's suitcases, and Johnny and Susie have to put on their backpacks. Then halfway to the door, Susie remembers her doll she left in the seatback pocket, so she has to go get it. You get my drift...

    It's amazing to watch the Japanese; when I was flying between Guam and Narita, we could board or deplane 256 Japanese on a 767-400 (using one door in Guam, by the way) in less time than it takes to board or deplane a 737-800 in the US.
    Last edited by snydersnapshots; 2012-05-16 at 12:10 AM.

  9. #9
    Member viapanam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Posts
    57
    You do have to factor in congestion. As you know, CLT is a US Airways hub, and depending upon your arrival / departure times, there can be significant runway delays. As an LCC, you should be able achieve a 30 minute turn, which would help compensate for some the potential delays. I am not as familiar with delays at IAD. One way of achieving the quick turn is open seating, at least in my opinion. I believe Southwest/s ability to turn quickly is largely due to getting people on and off quickly. When people are told to take the first open seat, and not board in some archaic sequence which seems to defy logic these days, boarding times are reduced. Also, getting rid of the 'priority' boarding should help as well. Take a look at British Airways in Europe. While they try and offer pre-boards to One World elite flyers - and even that is hit or miss on many flights - there is no zone boarding. And my experience is they board a 737 or A320 much quicker than US carriers with the zone system. Food for thought. I do not believe you need to build and hour into your turn (unless you were AA, which seems hopelessly mired in the hour turn mindset.) Just my two cents.
    Last edited by viapanam; 2012-05-20 at 11:04 AM.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •