Stage Length

The average distance of an airline's flights, in miles -- a context number, not a performance score. Short-haul carriers naturally show higher unit revenue and unit cost (RASM and CASM) because the fixed costs of each takeoff, landing and turn at the gate spread over fewer miles, while long-haul carriers show lower per-mile figures. So a short-haul airline with a high CASM is not necessarily less efficient than a long-haul one. Analysts "stage-length-adjust" unit metrics to a common distance before comparing two airlines, and a change in one carrier's own stage length can move its RASM and CASM with no change in the underlying business.

Related terms

Accounts Payable · Adjusted EBITDA · Adjusted EBITDA Ex-SBC · Administered-Only Members · ADR · ARPU

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