How do you decide on an aircraft??

[shearder]

Hi All

I bought an AN148-100B with which i am VERY happy. However, i would like to plan ahead for my next purchase which i would want to a more financially viable purchase than a "i really love that plane" purchase.

For example, is there a tool that one could use without looking at every plane and then calculating fuel costs/PAX/range etc? For example _ you do a flight with an 80 PAX plane and low to medium range and your profit is v$10mil for 2 hours flying. So cool, then you go and buy a 500+PAX liner to fly long haul routes and after fuel costs and 10-15 hours your profit is v$10 mil.

Get where I am going? How does one, without all the manual work and spreadsheets, actually determine what is a sound and financially feasable solution? I would say Ok buy a 500+ PAX line i.e. A380 and fly 10 hours I would then expect my profits to be v$50mil. I am a soul pilot/owner (for now) with my airline and have a 1% salary so i can first build my fleet.

Does any of the "oldies" have this info? It is all good and well to buy a v$380mil plane and make the same profit as a 16mil plane.

Thanks a Mil in advance!!

[vaccaro]

To be honest, when deciding on the a/c first thing I look for if it has a paintkit, then if it has a nice model (not an ugly beast like A380 for example).
After that I usually visit the real producers web pages for info.
You can also check other VA fleet pages and see how much fuel they burn with a specific type of a/c by clicking on last flights of that a/c.

[shearder]

To be honest, when deciding on the a/c first thing I look for if it has a paintkit, then if it has a nice model (not an ugly beast like A380 for example).
After that I usually visit the real producers web pages for info.
You can also check other VA fleet pages and see how much fuel they burn with a specific type of a/c by clicking on last flights of that a/c.

Thanks vacarro

I was hoping to avoid the PT of doing that - that was my first option but I didn't want to reinvent the wheel if there is already a database of somesort or spreadsheet that would give me the info so i could narrow down to most likely/possible buys.

Thanks a ton though for your response - much appreciated.

[MMattyK]

I know it's not much help, but if you want to make lots of cash initially, it seems that short hops in 'real time' time is the way to go, as overall you can make more profit flying 10 in 1 hour sectors than you can flying a large aircraft for a 10 hour sector.
For myself and our airline, we all have our favourite aircraft to fly, and we fly for fun. For myself I really like flying the dehavilland aircraft I have downloaded on fun routes, I have a pilot who loves to fly the Boeing Constellation, another who likes the MD83, and a fourth who prefers the Boing 767!
We do have some realism in our Airline though, as our Brussels hub mimmicks the routes and types flown from there, and we also always fly real time and real weather.
Having said that, we also have many routes that are fictional.
The world is your oyster

[shearder]

I know it's not much help,.........
Having said that, we also have many routes that are fictional.
The world is your oyster

Hey MM - It is much help That is basically what i have been doing. Flying 200nm trips with between 60-70 PAX. I like the AN148 but would also like to, from time to time, get a big bird for a long haul - say Johannesburg to Perth or Sydney or even London and New York. I alsways use real weather and try and keep my rate as low as possible i.e. 1-4x depending on my commitments LOL

I used to fly SAA Virtual (Not the VA in here) and that was ALL actual flights and had all the latest schedules etc and planes used/flight numbers etc etc etc... I would like to build my fleet and do the same...

[alemaobaiano]

If you don't plan to replicate a real airline, one way is to look at some of the "older" aircraft available, usually at very good prices. For example, our cargo mainstay is the Airbus A310-200F, not quite as sexy as a 767-300F, but it only costs about V$11 million which we expect to make back on the first or second flight.

The Boeing 737-300/400/500 are also very good tools for FS Airlines, relatively cheap (@ V$6-10 million) and although the cargo capacity is down on the 600/700/800 series it is another type where you would expect to have paid for the aircraft in one or two flights.

I'm sure there are other aircraft that are also good value, but these types have worked for us.

Check the Traders List regularly, there are some good bargains to be had there if you are patient. We've bought 767s for V$60 million before now, and MD11s for V$80-90 million.

If you really want one of the latest big jets, think about leasing. Several airlines offer long term leases at very good rates, and you can quickly build up your finances to buy one of your own. We used to do that for almost all of our long range fleet, and we still have things like B777s, A330s, and A340s on lease from other people. Check the prices carefully, they vary a lot, and look at the terms. We usually prefer a one-off payment for the full term of the lease, but if your finances aren't up to that you can still find some good deals.

Hope that helps.

[shearder]

Hi alemaobaiano

Yes it all helps Thanks a ton for your response. I think perhaps leasing a plane for a while and then see how it is in terms of economics and then, i guess buy the one that suits the pocket and requirements. I would like to mirror a real airline but it it isn't 100% i am fine with that.

[alemaobaiano]

Mirroring a real airline limits your options on aircraft types as you have to use what they have, and they are not always the best value on FS Airlines. Apart from leasing, one interesting way to do that and keep finances reasonable is to look back in time, perhaps 20 years and start from there. Use the types that were operated at that time, DC10s, Tristars, early 737s, etc, depending on the airline you are basing yourself on, and then follow the real world fleet expansion as finances permit. We flew BAC 1-11s for a time, before following the normal upgrade path through MD80s and B737s. We added modern A320s for a particular operation and although our main operations are being updated, we are still one generation behind.