Actually gates and airports are costs outside the control of an airline because they usually are owned by other companies or Qangos. LCCs usually pay their people less than full service airlines which is the main reason why their cost base is lower. The majors in the US are in such deep trouble at the moment precisely because their labour costs are so high. The cabin crew at DJ are probably paid commensurate with their duties and experience but they are definitely not highly paid. Just ask them! As for cost of aircraft, that really depends on the method of purchasing/leasing and timing. QF got a better deal on their B738s than DJ because they were in the right place at the right time. Sept 11th had kicked the guts out of the airline industry in the US and AN had collapsed over here. AA had an order for B738s they didn't need and QF needed more planes in a hurry. Result was a cheaper plane than what DJ bought. Nothing to do with LCC versus Full Service Carrier. Your point about Southwest being profitable with S/Fs under 70% is exactly what I'm saying. Their cost base is lower so their profits aren't just revenue driven, they're cost driven Grant SYD QF PS jetBlue consider themselves a full service airline. They won't thank you for calling them a low cost carrier. At 12:35 AM 20/05/03 -0400, you wrote: > Southwest keeps costs low where it counts, gates and airports, but pays >their employees well and keeps their planes at the top of the industry. As >you may or may not know, they have never had a crash and the only incident >was just that, an incident. jetBlue does the same. Ryanair has low costs as >well, but their revenue keeps growing, even when they offer seats for 2 euros >(as I paid). jetBlue, in fact, has grown so fast that I think they will set >a record next year when they qualify to be a major carrier (over 1 billion US >in revenue). > Not to come across as a jerk, since I know you guys at QF do a good job >of keeping that airline in the black, but the low fare carriers do a good job >of keeping costs down and yields up. Southwest makes their huge profits on >load factors under 70%, while the others have loads near 90%