Subscription Required

By Bjorn Fehrm

Introduction

July 14, 2022, © Leeham News: What is the most economical way to fly long-haul up to the range of the Airbus A321XLR? The single-aisle alternative or stay with the trusted widebody?

The intuition says the single-aisle must be lower cost and, therefore, return better margins, given the same ticket prices for equal comfort seats. But is this true? We use the Leeham airliner performance and economic model to find out.

Summary

• When comparing single-aisle and widebodies, it’s important to equalize the cabin standards.
• There are also differences in cruise speeds and, therefore, flight times.