Currently, there exists a misconception that states that operating large aircraft is more cost-efficient for an airline. In order to demystify such a conception, it is necessary to consider some of the primary cost constituents of a flight. Hence, the flight operating costs vary insignificantly with respect to the size of an aircraft. Hence, the passenger airline operating costs include such factors as fuel, labor, aircraft rent or ownership, professional services, food, landing fees, and maintenance. Hence, when accounting for these costs, such notions as landing, food, and labor are not affected by the size of a plane, as the aircraft staff, for example, includes two pilots for flying both 100-seat and 400-seat airplanes.
However, since the majority of flight operating costs rely on fuel, many people perceive large aircraft to be more cost-efficient, as they are capable of transporting more people at a time. Such a misconception may be dissipated by the fact that fuel consumption relies heavily on the weight of an aircraft, and the number of passengers, along with the amount of baggage, contributes to significantly higher fuel expense. For this reason, it may be concluded that while costs may differ for operating large and small aircraft, the sustainability of smaller planes is more justified.
As far as the flight duration is concerned, the costs for operating short-haul aircraft are generally higher due to the fact that the costs allocated for the plane landing, maintenance, and altitude are higher than for the long-haul ones. Hence, while many people believe that short-haul flights should be more cost-efficient, the allocation of flight operating costs is different for the two hauls. While long-haul flight cost is justified by the fuel spent to get to the designated destination, the short-haul flight’s cost relies on maintenance and landing costs. However, in the post-COVID-19 era, the researchers predict the emergence of an efficient long-haul flight model that will be catalyzed by extensive use of fuel-efficient large aircrafts such as Boeing-787 and people unwilling to change flights and spend much time in crowded airports for the sake of health care.
Hence, when considering the ongoing tendencies, it becomes evident that there is currently no definite answer to what aircraft are more cost-efficient to operate. Thus, the cost of large long-haul aircraft depends primarily on the fuel spent during the flight, whereas small short-haul aircraft rely heavily on the airport operating costs and landing costs.