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Plane Short-Haul (SH)¤

Overview¤

Short-haul flights refer to air travel over relatively short distances, typically less than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). These flights are crucial for connecting cities and regions, facilitating business travel, tourism, and cargo transport. Short-haul aviation offers the convenience of quick travel times and frequent service, making it a popular choice for many passengers and businesses.

Process Description¤

  • Flight Operations: Short-haul flights are operated by regional and domestic airlines using smaller aircraft designed for efficiency over short distances.
  • Airports: These flights typically operate out of regional and domestic airports, which may have shorter runways and fewer facilities than major international hubs.
  • Passenger Service: Short-haul flights often have quicker turnaround times and simpler boarding processes, enhancing convenience for passengers.

Benefits¤

  • Convenience: Provides quick and direct connections between cities and regions, reducing travel time compared to other modes of transport.
  • Frequency: High frequency of flights allows for flexible travel planning and accommodates varying schedules.
  • Economic Impact: Supports local economies by facilitating business travel, tourism, and regional trade.
  • Accessibility: Improves accessibility to remote or less densely populated areas not well-served by other forms of transportation.

Applications¤

  • Business Travel: Enables efficient travel for business purposes, connecting regional offices, meetings, and conferences.
  • Tourism: Supports the tourism industry by providing easy access to regional and domestic destinations.
  • Emergency Services: Can be used for medical evacuations, disaster response, and other emergency services.

Challenges¤

  • Environmental Impact: Short-haul flights contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, though less so than long-haul flights per trip.
  • Operational Costs: High frequency of takeoffs and landings increases operational costs, including fuel, maintenance, and airport fees.
  • Infrastructure Strain: Regional and domestic airports may face congestion and capacity issues during peak travel times.
  • Economic Viability: Smaller aircraft have higher per-seat operating costs, which can impact the profitability of short-haul routes.

Future Outlook¤

The future of short-haul aviation will likely focus on enhancing sustainability and efficiency. Technological advancements in aircraft design, such as the development of electric and hybrid-electric planes, are expected to reduce emissions and operational costs. Improvements in air traffic management and airport infrastructure should help alleviate congestion.

Modelization¤

Bottom-Up¤

The plane considered is an average plane regrouping Narrow-Body's aircraft and Regional Jets from 2013.1

Aircraft Type Fleet size Daily utilization h/day Aircraft cost $×10^6 Seats
A320-200 NB 890 8,4 95,12 150
737-800 NB 650 9 94,36 180
737-300 NB 75 6,3 65,02 149
E-190 RJ 155 6,7 46,2 114
Plane SH 8,4 89,28 158

With an average load factor of 83.3% during the period 2015-20192. and an average cruising speed of 734 km/h3.

\[ ref_{size}= \text{Avg # of seats} \cdot \text{Load factor} \cdot \text{Average speed} \cdot \text{Ac utilization factor} \]

Top-Down¤

An other methods is consider the national statistics of Canada.

*(thousands) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Available seat-kilometres* 205 461 574 227 828 958 249 289 456 267 73 487 270 768 611
Hours flown* (HF) 1 985 2 43 2 160 2 270 2 277
Passenger-kilometres* (RPK) 171 276 306 188 573 927 207 24 879 223 625 353 228 319 390
Passengers* 68 122 73 512 79 545 84 39 85 459
Total operating revenues* 19 366 747 19 811 470 21 734 134 23 807 941 25 305 619
Turbo fuel consumed* 6 545 65 6 994 641 7 587 721 7 932 156 8 102 149
Fuel litre/RPK 0,0382 0,0371 0,0367 0,0355 0,0355
\[ \text{# Aircraft} = \dfrac{\sum HF [h]}{C_{p,ac} \cdot 8760[h] } \]
\[ ref_{size} = \dfrac{\sum{RPK}[pkm]}{\text{# Aircraft}\cdot 8760[h]} = \dfrac{\sum RPK [pkm] \cdot C_{p,ac}}{\sum HF [h]} \]

\(C_{p,ac}\) is the utilization factor and has been computed to be 39.2%1.

Note that this method is global and can not differentiate the shot-haul from long-haul.

ES Model Parameters¤

All the parameters concerning the Plane Short Haul are listed in the table below.

entry_key value unit sets source_reference
CO2_E (layer) 0.098 kgCO2 CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
CO2_E (layer) 0.104 kgCO2 GLO ATAG, (2021): "Tracking Aviation Efficiency, Fact Sheet #3"
JETFUEL (layer) -0.3957 kWh GLO ATAG, (2021): "Tracking Aviation Efficiency, Fact Sheet #3"
JETFUEL (layer) -0.372 kWh CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
MOB_PUBLIC_AIR (layer) 1 pkm GLO ATAG, (2021): "Tracking Aviation Efficiency, Fact Sheet #3"
MOB_PUBLIC_AIR (layer) 1 pkm CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
c_inv 3189 USD/(pkm/h) CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
c_maint 118 USD/(pkm/h)/yr CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
c_p 1 - CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
lifetime 25 y GLO M.Durgut, (2023): "How Long Does a Commercial Aircraft Last? - Aviationfile ⧉"
ref_size 28000 pkm/h CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"
trl 9 - CAN Fischer, Loïc, (2023): "Air_Transportation"

References¤

Data Sources
ATAG. (2021). "Tracking Aviation Efficiency, Fact Sheet #3"
Fischer, Loïc. (2023). "Air_Transportation"
M.Durgut. (2023). "How Long Does a Commercial Aircraft Last? - Aviationfile ⧉". aviation related posts, aviation pioneers and aviation accidents

  1. Fioriti, M., Vercella, V., & Viola, N. (2018). Cost-Estimating Model for Aircraft Maintenance. Journal of Aircraft. doi: 10.2514/1.C034664 ⧉ ↩↩

  2. Operating and financial statistics for major Canadian airlines, monthly. (2024, July 09). Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2310007901 ⧉ ↩

  3. Page sur le parc aérien d'Air Canada. (2024, June 27). Retrieved from https://www.aircanada.com/ca/fr/aco/home/fly/onboard/fleet.html# ⧉ ↩