Research
What we found while collecting data for the calculator: every number comes with a source and a verified quote; search logs and data are in the open repository.
✓ built in — the calculator accounts for it by default⚑ mind when entering data — the calculation uses your inputs, the article says what to keep in mind◷ queued — not in the calculator yet
Checking the model against Frontier and Southwest: where it was wrong and what was fixed
1.6 million flights of two US airlines run through the calculator against their reports line by line: what matched, four model errors for the US and their fixes, and what 268 million ticket records say about the average fare.
Which routes are attractive for an airline: Europe and India
How airlines and airports evaluate a route, which data are openly available, a rating of European and Indian pairs by market size, growth and load factor, who already flies the top pairs and which aircraft to enter with — with a "market share → type" calculator.
Airline benchmarks and our efficiency rating
Which benchmarks the industry uses, why cost per seat-kilometre cannot be compared head-on, when to use which benchmark — and an efficiency rating of airlines from public 2025 reports.
How to build a network so the aircraft flies more
How much aircraft really fly at Pobeda, Aeroflot, Ryanair, Wizz, Volaris and others, why a peak day is not an average year, how bases, sector length, turnaround and crews decide the hours, and how maintenance, contracts, stations and spare parts keep the aircraft from sitting on the ground.
What jet fuel costs in different regions
In calm times regional spot prices are within ±5–9 % of the US, in the 2026 shock up to ±20 %; the main difference is in the into-plane price: from ×1.08 in the US to ×1.2 in Africa and ×1.45 in Kazakhstan. India and Russia are special cases. A regional correction for the calculator, with confidence levels.
Heat and altitude: how many passengers an aircraft cannot carry
Why aircraft carry less in heat and at altitude: a temperature threshold, then 0.4–0.6 % of take-off mass per degree. Delhi in May costs about 8 passengers on a flight loaded to the limit. A simple correction for the calculator — and where data are missing.
Aircraft maintenance: what it costs and how fast it gets dearer
Does maintenance get dearer two to three times faster than inflation? The parts catalogue does (6–9 % a year); actual costs do not: +3.0 % against +2.6 % inflation. Why engine makers live on aftermarket, why catalogue-based estimates run 1.5–2.5× above reported costs, and maintenance rates for 53 types from Form 41.
What it costs to land: charges at 68 airports
Every airport tariff in the calculator, from published documents: Europe, Russia, China, India, Africa, the Gulf. An A320 turnaround from Frankfurt costs from EUR 145 in Algiers to EUR 14,552 in Lagos; EUR 1.6–7.7k in Europe. For an airport without a tariff the calculator now uses its regional median.