Cost of flight (per km)

We all the talk about discount airlines I was looking for information on actual costs. I found the following airline costs breakdown which is interesting, i think:

Cost per available seat Kilometer is around A$0.08/km ($80 per 1,000km). This suggests that a flight from Perth to Sydney costs around $290 for the airline. (assuming 3,500 km).

Obviously all airlines are a little different with different cost structures, and many of these costs do not vary with the volume of flight, short flights will be more expensive per km that long ones etc.

The breakdown by component is something like:

• Fuel 28%,
• Operations costs 40%,
• Finance related 12%,
• sales, marketing and overhead 20%

When I look up flights on Tiger airways I often get a revenue of around $80/1,000 km less for the deals and more for the popular flights. If this is true it will be all about how full the planes are. Reasonably full, Tiger will do well and make money. An important dynamic is that most of these costs are fixed so discounting below $80/1,000 km makes sense to fill seats in the short time but not in the long term (this is the bane and joy of the airline industry)

Need to think about Co2 emissions.......

Wonderful Swan Valley Wines (WSV)

For a good wine that first sip is just magical, the intension favours and smells bring a grin.

John Kosovich Wines

Park under the 80 year old vines and enter the musty Underground Cellar. The cool and wonderful smelling prepares you for the tasting. The Son (Anthony) now runs the winery and you probably get to talk directly to him as you taste.

The Vergelho is excellent as is the Chardonnay an the Shiraz. They also make a Liqueur which is very well regarded, although I have not tried it.

Lamont's

Cool and relaxed feeling under the trees. Meal – small bits, squid excellent, nice olives, noisy wine tasting area on weekend.

The SSB and Family reserve are excellent.

Houghton Wines

Huge old pine trees mark the picnic play area that is a favourite spot on a sunday afternoon. It is going to be busy so don't come for a quiet time.

the wines are great as you would expect. We have the Premium white (apparently 30% of what they sell and $10 per bottle its a great everyday white), the crofters SSB and Cab Merlot. The Jack Mann is just getting so expensive ($200+) so we don't bother with it.

Carbon Offset

The Basics - What we use.

Based on the various Web sites we use about 11 tonnes per year (Lots of variation in this number)

Ways to reduce:

• Plant a tree on the sunny side of the house
• Light bulbs - we have the small spot lights so we need to wait for LED lights to become available
• Use the bike - must do this more often
  

Ways to remove catbon:

• A new tree has to be the easiest.
• The amount of Co2 absorbed per tree appears to vary widely from web site to site. Some sites say 170 kg per tree, others suggest around 20-22 kg/yr of Co2.
  
• So you need between 6 and 50 trees per tonne. These must be net new trees and of course there are lots of other benefits.

Death at a Funeral

Took awhile to warm to this movie, the dialogue misses the mark and just isn't funny at the start. Perhaps I needed an attitude adjustment. As the story matures the plot turns and deepens reality gives way to incredulity. A classical fase there is nothing really new here but a good entertainment. A lot of familiar faces but no hook actor, no A list star to take all the attention or get it from the audience. I wish it didn't really need one, but it does, someone to bring the other performances together and make this a story.

B for effort. I am surprised at the Rotten tomato rating, seems high