Aircraft that can fly Sydney - Europe one stop

[1993matias]

Hi guys,

I am currently in a tight spot aircraft wise. I need to replace my MD-11s with something new, but I cannot seem to find a worthy replacement. The main purpose of my MD-11s is one-stop flights from Australia to Europe and USA. A flight Sydney - Bangkok -  Frankfurt takes almost 24 hours one way on an MD-11, but it's possible. No other similar aircraft can do that as far as I can see: The 747-400 has too long turn around time, the B777-200 is slow and so is the A340.
It seems to me that reducing the turn around times would be the only place to optimize here, as only the Ilyushin Il-96 can fly as long as the MD-11 one-stop. Also the B747-300, but it's really, really fast.
My wish is to have either only Boeing or Airbus aircraft, but which to choose? Will there be a faster aircraft in the next few years? Or should I "cheat" and make the stopover a mini-hub and flying my aircraft from there (instead of e.g. Sydney-Bangkok-Paris)? Or just keep the MD-11s going forever?

Year: 1998

Code: [Select]

MD11: speed: 510, turn time: 1,64, range: 7980, max distance with one stop: 10567
B744: speed: 493, turn time: 2,10, range: 8429, max distance with one stop:  9765
B772: speed: 481, turn time: 1,76, range: 8820, max distance with one stop:  9850
A342: speed: 475, turn time: 1,68, range: 8510, max distance with one stop:  9804
A332: speed: 467, turn time: 1,17, range: 6370, max distance with one stop: 10113
Il96: speed: 485, turn time: 1,16, range: 7475, max distance with one stop: 10519
My airline, AussieWings

[Anzatax]

According to my general knowledge of aircraft, future subsonic airliners would be built for and optimized around the speed of 475 - 490, so if the data in AM matches real-world data, later aircraft will not get faster than 495 or so, definitely not 500 and above. Turn time, however, should become less for newer aircraft.
The only Boeing and Airbus aircraft that will later be able to appear in your world will be the 787 and A380, but I think that the A380 will not have enough range (and possibly not profitable), while the 787 would arrive too late for the purpose of replacing your MD-11 fleet.
I suppose that the routes you are suggesting are only one-way flights? If so, if all the aircraft listed above able to reach the places you have in mind, I will suggest perhaps the 777-200 or the A330-200. The best idea, however, may be to keep the MD-11's (since poor McDonnell Douglas will soon be disappearing from the scene), and only if you value profit and speed would I go for the Ilyushin Il-96. For a realistic game I would opt to turn Boeing or Airbus. I do not think other big jets will be introduced (but I may be wrong ).
If the suggested routes are two-way trips, the choices will be harder, and I may stick with the tried-and-true MD-11. I didn't expect that the MD-11 could have so much range!

How do you do a stopover flight? Do you have to make the stopover a base, and switch to an aircraft based there?

I hope the above may be of help

[1993matias]

Yeah, you're right about the entirely new aircraft. I was thinking if there were maybe some engine variant with longer range or a LR/ER version coming in the future.
The distance Sydney - Bangkok - Frankfurt (the closest major airport in Europe) is 10250 miles. Only the MD-11 and Il-96 can reach that, and the Ilyushin only because it has the capacity of the A330-200, 289 seats. I want something with 400+ seats, but they're simply too slow...

Turn time in the game is tied to the number of seats, so all 50 seat aircraft have the same turn time.
One stop flights as e.g. Sydney-Bangkok-Paris work as two separate routes in AM: One Sydney - Bangkok and another Paris - Bangkok. This requires me to have bases in both Sydney and Paris. I could also only have one base, then the routes would be Bangkok - Paris/Sydney.

[Anzatax]

So you have decided to replace the MD-11 with Boeings. Which Boeing are you replacing the MD-11 with?

[1993matias]

I think I'll "cheat" a bit here and open a base halfway there in order to make a neat route map.

The MD-11 will be replaced by the 777-200 on some routes, the 777-300 on others and the 747-400 (possibly) on a few.

[Anzatax]

Any reasons why you chose the above mentioned aircraft?

[1993matias]

Yes! I made an excel spreadsheet comparing different attributes of the aircraft. Surprisingly the A340 uses less fuel than the B777, but the B777 has slightly longer range and is slightly faster while also being a bit cheaper.
The B767 uses less fuel than the A330, quite much more range and also an intermediate size of 350 passengers (767-300). The B767 is a bit more expensive, but it pays off with the extra range.

Had I not been bound by my choice to have a single a/c manufacturer, I would have chosen the B767-200/300 and the A340-200 for my fleet, maybe also a B777-300 for the few really heavy routes.

Fun side note: Flying the 747-400 burns more than twice the amount of fuel than a 767-300 while only carrying 175 (50%) more passengers!