philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Jun 2, 2013 8:51:26 GMT 1
I believe that Skymark deserves a special thread, because it is a very unusual customer for the whalejet.
You certainly remember that there were many sceptics about the BC order. On the old forum, Rex Kramer was particularly outspoken in expressing his doubts. That was because Skymark was labeled a low-cost carrier and was said to lack the large premium customer base and feeding network which were thought to be required to successfully operate A380s.
Skymark's challenge is to demonstrate the viability of another approach, probably based on a commercial policy crafted with one of its main shareholders, the NIS Japanese travel organisation.
What strikes me is that Skymark has selected a low-density configuration. This may show that they intend to use the A380 to compete with ANA and JAL on the premium market, probably hoping to improve their brand image in the process.
In my opinion, Skymark's importance to the A380 program is twofold. One the one hand, if it is successful, it may attract a different type of customers to the whalejet. On the other hand, if premium customers are seduced by Skymark, ANA and JAL may take a second look at the aircraft.
I hope for many comments.
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Jun 2, 2013 14:36:36 GMT 1
With the booming Asian market and both JAL and ANA downsizing, I can see a market for the A380 in Japan. Skymark could sell cheap premium tickets and steal customers from ANA and JAL. And if that doesn't work, they could always try a high-density cabin configuration.
Skymark's CEO is very serious about the A380 and said to buy more aircraft if the formula works. Time will tell us if he had it right.
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Baroque
in service - 2 years
Posts: 3,991
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Post by Baroque on Jun 2, 2013 15:16:51 GMT 1
I'm wondering if Airbus gave SkyMark a good deal on the A380s in the hopes of inviting JAL and ANA to join the A380 bandwagon. If it turns out to be a popular plane among premium customers, maybe they'll start looking at a few of them.
And SkyMark is supposedly configuring their A380s with just 397 seats in Business and Premium Economy. It'll be interesting how they'll price their products. Are we looking at some of the lowest Business and Premium Economy fares? As a side note, it's not far off from the 407 seats of Korean Air.
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Jun 2, 2013 16:25:00 GMT 1
I don't think Skymark intends to offer cheap fares - that would require a high density configuration. I think that they will go for premium customers with usual fares, drawing on NIS's marketing power.
The LA route should be an important test of their strategy.
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Jun 4, 2013 10:15:27 GMT 1
That depends on the definition of "cheap". Offering the same premium prices as on an ANA or JAL 777 is what I would call "cheap" (more luxury for the same price), but it's not as cheap as a LCC would offer.
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Jun 4, 2013 11:23:27 GMT 1
That depends on the definition of "cheap". Offering the same premium prices as on an ANA or JAL 777 is what I would call "cheap" (more luxury for the same price), but it's not as cheap as a LCC would offer. Agreed.
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Baroque
in service - 2 years
Posts: 3,991
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Post by Baroque on Jun 5, 2013 2:30:36 GMT 1
I don't think Skymark intends to offer cheap fares - that would require a high density configuration. I think that they will go for premium customers with usual fares, drawing on NIS's marketing power. The LA route should be an important test of their strategy. It's a two class layout with Business and Premium Economy only and it's a lot of seats to sell. I don't think they'll price it at the "usual" rate as their competitors. With a total of 394 seats it's not far off from the 407 seats of Korean Air. So if they price it at the usual rates, that'd be a lot of revenue for a given flight! So, methinks they're more likely to price it cheaper than their competition and what better way to do it than using the most spacious and efficient aircraft in the sky.
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Post by Jkkw on Jul 8, 2013 14:06:01 GMT 1
Something interesting I found in the Civil Simulator Census (downloadable from here, free registration required) is the Skymark has an A380 simulator which was installed last year. In comparison, BA only installed their sim this year and neither Thai nor China Southern have an A380 simulator. It seems Skymark is really enthusiastic about recieving their aircraft and once again, it is remarkable that an airline with only 31 737s flying domestically will soon be flying the A380
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Jul 8, 2013 14:10:37 GMT 1
Yes it's amazing. Their CEO is very enthusiastic about the A380 and said to buy more aircraft if the formula works. They also have A330s on order, those will fill the gap a bit
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Jul 8, 2013 14:14:47 GMT 1
I imagine that Skymark, having no widebody experience, decided to begin staff training very early. By the way, Skymark also is receiving A330s.
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