Almost all of the overseas traffic are wide bodies so there is no such thing as a variable gauge. Smaller aircraft will be selected on shorter runs i.e. 5 hours or less dependent upon the season like an A319 or A320 or B737 for the Caribbean flights except in the winter when a larger aircraft is needed. So forget your economics of agglomeration. Everything is based on load factors. Plus little airplanes run out of gas about mid-Atlantic unless they make an intermediate stop.
You're a decade out of date. Look up what the 321LR/XLR are doing to the industry right now. And look up the numbers ordered by Air Canada and Transat.
Put it this way. With the XLR, Aer Lingus could fly directly to Calgary. Would you rather fly from Edmonton and transfer in Toronto on your way to Dublin. Or train to Calgary and board a flight to Dublin? Here is a conservative estimate of the reach from Calgary with the XLR.
Last edited:

