Will The 787 Succeed On Blue Collar Routes

The Blue collar (BC) routes I am referring about are those inter connectivity routes hauling passengers on business meetings, family gatherings, and everyday work per Bombay to Delhi. Air India, has started switching its 787 fleet towards this airline seat endeavor. After all, it has more than a billion potential customers and "it" wants to up its game. The important item noted is its switch from the Single aisle A320 equipment to the more luxuriant 787 on-board spacing.

It is also important to note the other world airlines have nuanced a high capacity usage with its 787 fleet. However the purpose has centered on the vacation crowd and not the BC crowd. Those airlines are numbered by the likes of Jet Star, Norwegian Air and Scoot Airlines. Notice some on the short list surrounds China's 1.4 billion potential customers. The 787 has already entered the age of customer maximization as it has departed away from the junket terminal with little fan fare. The more the merrier theme is apropo.

Back to the Air India pivot on the A320 going to the 787, remains an on-the-cheap appeal from the airline standpoint. It won't change its currently configured 256 seat 787-8 into a Jetstar like 334 seater. Good news for the contortion challenged Air India traveler. It is also a good template for analyzing if any 787 as is, can be a competitive engine on a swelling customer routes.

When entering the realm of "BC" travel, the fares must align with the customer base. A quick and spontaneous trip suggest a lower air fare offering for those needing a ride. The question remains can Air India make a profit using a lower airfare for a travel enticement within a thousand mile journey? All BC fights are a spontaneously driven flights differing from a vacation or long range business venture. The latter class of travel is powered by months of planning for a needed vacation, and/or its powered from a budget line of any said business. Those flights can offer more passenger amenity than a BC purposed flight.

Air India has come to grips with an untapped market base in India with its billion potential customers. Sometimes people need to travel right now for personal reasons, and AI has assigned the 787 for this mission. The lower airfare price is the motive power for this idea. A full 787 flying under a thousand miles becomes the formula. Air India has seized an opportunity, and it means to please a country with several dozen 787's in operation. The A320 is not suited for this particular mission and is retiring from the arrival of the 787. If this works for AI, more 787-9's will be ordered.