While revenue impact is informative for network planning, profit impact is more decisive for making strategic choices. The system’s Unit Cost tab, shown in Figure 1, enables the configuration of unit costs for different fleets and associated cost drivers, which the system utilizes to calculate total costs and profits for each flight segment. This includes prorating Origin and Destination (O&D) revenue to individual segments for profit analysis.

You have the option to input cost records manually or by importing a CSV with a matching format. Absent any cost records, the system auto-generates them with zero values based on the host airline’s aircraft types (e.g., row 4-6 in Figure 1).

This image is password protected.

The Unit Cost table includes the following fields:

  • Airline: The IATA code representing the airline to which the cost data applies.
  • Aircraft: The specific aircraft type code for which costs are being defined and used in the schedule table .
  • Cycle_Cost: The operational cost incurred for each complete flight cycle, from takeoff to landing.
  • Seat_Distance_Cost: The Cost per Available Seat Mile (CASM). CASM is a common unit in airline economics that reflects the cost to fly one seat one mile. When using CASM figures published by an airline in the system, ensure that other cost inputs, like cycle_cost and block_hour_cost, are zeroed out to avoid double-counting, as the system tallies all inputs cumulatively for the total cost calculation on a flight or segment.
  • Block_Hour_Cost: The cost associated with each block hour, the elapsed time from gate departure to gate arrival.
  • Fuel_Per_Hour: The amount of fuel, in gallons, used per block hour of flight.
  • Fuel_Price: The cost of fuel per gallon.
  • Cost_per_Pax: Costs related to passengers, such as in-flight snacks and meals.
  • Cost_per_Rev_Percent: Costs associated with generating revenue, like sales commissions paid to agents.
  • Other_Rev_Percent: A flexible field for including other revenue components in profit calculations, such as ancillary fees, cargo revenue, and fuel surcharges.
  • Included: Check this box to include the selected cost record in calculations. This option is useful when maintaining multiple cost records for the same airline and aircraft but only wanting to apply one at a time.
  • Notes: Use this field to provide a description of the record, such as data source, calculation method, or any other relevant details.

All financial figures are to be input in U.S. dollars (USD). The unit costs within the system are cumulative; they aggregate to represent the segment’s total operational cost. For instance, if maintenance costs are classified under cycle-driven expenses, they should not be duplicated in the block-hour calculations to prevent inflating the total cost.

The unit costs within the system are cumulative; they aggregate to represent the segment’s total operational cost. If airport costs are specified in the Airport Cost section, corresponding amount should be reduced in this section.