Ryanair Lightens the Load; Weight Restrictions and Fuel Savings; Singapore Airlines' 747s Fly Into Retirement
HODSON: Ryanair has hit the headlines over its latest push to drive down costs. The papers say that the crew has been urged to lose weight to help cut fuel bills. We'll investigate whether that's true. There's also the added incentive of appearing in the rather racy Ryanair calendar. But while Ryanair agrees that every little bit counts, the crew's waistline is not its biggest concern. Stephen McNamara told me what the airline is really doing to cut costs.</s>STEPHEN MCNAMARA, SPOKESMAN, RYANAIR (via telephone): Where this came from is that we have recently cut the size and weight of our in-flight magazine, which will save us around half a million euros a year in printing costs alone. And then we go into the wider debate of the knock-on effect, as in the weight of the magazine is less and therefore, there will obviously be a small amount of fuel saving. And we got into the debate, then, on what else we might be looking at in terms of cutting the weight on the aircraft to save fuel. So, things like the -- we serve less ice, the carpets are lighter, the seats are lighter. We were considering getting rid of armrests, that type of thing. And then it came onto the debate about passengers and passenger weight, and while there's absolutely no way to control passenger weight, we obviously got onto the debate, then, of cabin crew. And with cabin crew, of course, they have to be fit, but their weight really isn't that much of a consequence on the overall weight of the aircraft. So while the headline said we were absolutely demanding our crew go on diets, that simply isn't the case. But our crew do have to stay fit for the duties, but hopefully, they'll be enjoying a few Easter eggs this weekend as well, though.</s>HODSON: Well, you did suggest, though, that your cabin crew like to keep their weight down in order to get themselves into the company calendar.</s>MCNAMARA: Absolutely. We have a very dynamic, professional, and young cabin crew, and most of them see the calendar every year, and they want to try and get into next year's calendar. So, in terms of the weight of the cabin crew, it's not really an issue for us at the moment. But we do, of course, ask our crew to maintain a certain weight so that they can carry out their duties. It's nothing over the top. They just have to be fit and healthy to make sure that they can - - they can assist passengers if required. And in terms of the weight aspect for fuel saving, it's not really there. But if you do a lot of small things in terms of cutting the weight of the magazines, cutting the amount of ice, cutting the weight of the trollies, then you can bring the weight of the overall aircraft down slightly.</s>HODSON: Sure, but one really wonders whether some of these measures make that much difference. I mean, having a slightly lighter magazine or a slightly lighter carpet, if you compare that with the overall weight of the aircraft and its engines and, indeed, all the passengers and the crew onboard, it seems this is pretty marginal and you might as well save yourself some of the bad publicity that you're getting out of this.</s>MCNAMARA: We don't think it's really bad publicity. I think all of this -- with highlight yet again that Ryanair in particular will always look at costs, stripping back costs, making things lighter so that we burn less fuel so that our costs our lower so that our fares are lower.</s>HODSON: We're looking at the moment at some pretty steep fuel prices. You look at the price of a barrel of oil in $120-odd per barrel. Do you think that there are going to be some nasty surprises in terms of your having to ramp up your fares, your fuel surcharges, if you charge them, by the end of this year? Because frankly, fuel is going to cost substantially more than it has in the years of expansion, which you had just behind you.</s>MCNAMARA: Well, I think -- well, we don't have a fuel surcharge, first of all, and we very much believe that airlines that are charging fuel surcharges is absolute con. In terms of the fuel prices, we have a fairly good hedging policy in place. I think we have a bit of an advantage over the other airlines. But all of the airlines will face the same problems going forward. Fuel prices are historically high. So, we are encouraging passengers to travel with less baggage. We want people to bring a cabin bag only. If you want to bring a check-in bag, we're going to charge you for that. So, it is about trying to get the price right and get the weight right. And if you get both right, and if you've a good hedging policy in place, then you can protect your fares and keep the fares low.</s>HODSON: Stephen McNamara, there. Well, we've crunched the numbers, and using the rough averages of fuel costs, this is how much money an airline would save in a year on a daily flight between London and New York. Now, let's assume that a crew member weighs about 100 kilos. That's about 220 -- or 4 pounds, actually. I'm about 80 kilos, if you need a comparison. Now, it costs the airline almost $10,000 a year in fuel to fly them, assuming that they show up for work every day, of course. Now, here, here's the clever bit on this graphic. If they were to lose weight. You can -- you can see how quickly the airlines start saving money. So, for example, let's try moving this all the way down to, let's say, about 50 kilos. So, that's actually, by comparison with 100 kilo, quite skinny. But look at this number here. They will have saved their employers nearly $5,000 every year. But it's a fragile situation, because roughly speaking, every kilogram that you put on is another $100 in fuel costs. So, you'd have to pick and choose your in-flight meals carefully. I'm going to sneeze. Sorry about that. But that's not to be sneezed at, I think. Now, after commanding the skies for almost 40 years, the first of the true wide-bodied jets is going into retirement at Singapore Airlines. The company has taken the last of its Boeing 747s out of service to make way for a new generation of planes. I should say so. I remember them flying when I was a teenager. Our Ramy Inocencio was at the gate for the final farewell.</s>RAMY INOCENCIO, CNN ASIA BUSINESS ANALYST: This is what the retirement party of a queen looks like. As of today, Singapore Airlines is decommissioning its entire fleet of Boeing 747s. And here at the Hong Kong International Airport, there was no shortage of sentiment.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a bit sad, because it was the first flight I ever caught over 30 years ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very sad because maybe this is my last time to fly with the Boeing 747.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very, very sad about the retirement of the 747. My first 747 flight was in 1971.</s>MAK SWEE WAH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL, SINGAPORE AIRLINES: For many, it will be difficult to say good-bye to this great aircraft after nearly 40 years of service.</s>INOCENCIO (voice-over): Mak Swee Wah explains why everyone is waxing nostalgic. He's an executive vice president of Singapore Airlines.</s>MAK: We would not be where we are today without the 747 because it was really the backbone of the long-haul fleet. It enabled us to mount a number of groundbreaking flights. For example, the first nonstop to London and back, and also across the Pacific.</s>INOCENCIO (on camera): Right now, ground crew is prepping this plane for its return flight to Singapore. It came here as SQ flight 747. It returns as SQ flight 748. From there, it will be decommissioned.</s>INOCENCIO (voice-over): After more than 38 years, many agree the writing was on the wall.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The newer aircraft are much quieter, and they are more comfortable to fly in.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all talk about economy and green, so it's about time that the queen of the skies maybe to retire.</s>INOCENCIO: That's got as much to do with the 747's advanced age as it does with advances in technology. Many say this, the new Airbus A380, viewed as masculine, spacious, and modern, is the clear replacement for the old, elegant queen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like an enduring nana. Something to look back on fondly.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd call it a Picasso that's gone into retirement and there is hanging up in an art gallery somewhere in France.</s>INOCENCIO (on camera): The last Singapore Airlines 747 flight is now pushing back from the gate, but 70 other airlines are still using the warhorse, from Cathay Pacific to British Airways and to Qantas, so there's no reason to be sad. But perhaps the only thing that I'm sad about is that I am not on that plane. Ramy Inocencio, CNN, Hong Kong.