What about adding in cargo operations that measures cargo flown instead of passengers and cargo airplanes? Many of the airplanes you have on the list now have cargo versions in service, so it wouldn't take too much.
The VA I'm starting up will be based (initially) around a fleet of Piper Navajo, Cessna 208 Cargomaster, and NAMC YS-11 aircraft. The Navajo carries approx. 1000 LB of cargo, the 208 - 3000, and the YS-11 - 10,000.
It would be nice to have at least those aircraft plus the freighter versions of major aircraft like the 757, 727, 737, DC-10, 767, 747, A300, A310, MD-11, and L1011 available as well for those who are looking to expand into larger freight operations.
Cargo Airline Operations
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Konny
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Cargo operations is something we wanted to include anyway, but you're the first one acutually demanding it 
. But we first need to optimize our passenger-system, as it's far away from being finished, so don't expect any results in the near future.
And I always wondered how much profit the real airlines make by cargo. So I would first had to know how much money you can get per LB of cargo against the distance.
. But we first need to optimize our passenger-system, as it's far away from being finished, so don't expect any results in the near future.And I always wondered how much profit the real airlines make by cargo. So I would first had to know how much money you can get per LB of cargo against the distance.
Konrad - FSAirlines Developer
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CAPFlyer
- Chief Pilot
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Quite a bit actually.
Actually, most airlines (passenger ones) will bump PEOPLE before they bump any freight they may be carrying. That's how much more money they make off the freight they carry. If you ever get a chance to see an international flight come in on heavy equipment, you'll be amazed at how much of the plane's belly is freight and how little is baggage. They can usually fit the luggage into 6 or 7 containers, which leaves over half the plane's belly capacity for revenue freight.
As for price per mile, it depends. Is the cargo all from one shipper or multiple? CV-580s, which carry 10,000 pounds, usually run in the $6.50-$7.50 US per Nautical Air Mile range for the whole plane if you're chartering it for a flight, so the revenue changes depending on if you're flying for one shipper or multiple. Feeder Freight lines are variable. Some get paid a fixed amount per flight, others get paid a fixed fee plus a certain amount based on the amount of freight (in weight) they fly.
Basically, the best way to figure it is to set a given operation cost per hour of the plane then divide that by the number of miles per hour the plane flies. A CV-580 flies 290 nautical miles per hour, and costs about $2000/hour to operate (not exact figure, but it's in the ballpark. I've heard figures as low as $1000/hour). That means that it costs $6.90 per nautical mile.
Also, Cargo Airlines tend to have a "minimum price". For the CV-580, for example, the airline may set a minimum price of $4000 for any flight, so they get paid that much any time the plane is chartered no matter how far it goes or how much it carries. There is a method to the madness of setting the minimum price, but I won't go into it too much because in it's basic form, it just assumes that you're gonna incur 3-4 hours of operating cost for any flight you do because of the time on the ground loading and the need to get the airplane from it's present location to the pickup location for the freight.
Actually, most airlines (passenger ones) will bump PEOPLE before they bump any freight they may be carrying. That's how much more money they make off the freight they carry. If you ever get a chance to see an international flight come in on heavy equipment, you'll be amazed at how much of the plane's belly is freight and how little is baggage. They can usually fit the luggage into 6 or 7 containers, which leaves over half the plane's belly capacity for revenue freight.
As for price per mile, it depends. Is the cargo all from one shipper or multiple? CV-580s, which carry 10,000 pounds, usually run in the $6.50-$7.50 US per Nautical Air Mile range for the whole plane if you're chartering it for a flight, so the revenue changes depending on if you're flying for one shipper or multiple. Feeder Freight lines are variable. Some get paid a fixed amount per flight, others get paid a fixed fee plus a certain amount based on the amount of freight (in weight) they fly.
Basically, the best way to figure it is to set a given operation cost per hour of the plane then divide that by the number of miles per hour the plane flies. A CV-580 flies 290 nautical miles per hour, and costs about $2000/hour to operate (not exact figure, but it's in the ballpark. I've heard figures as low as $1000/hour). That means that it costs $6.90 per nautical mile.
Also, Cargo Airlines tend to have a "minimum price". For the CV-580, for example, the airline may set a minimum price of $4000 for any flight, so they get paid that much any time the plane is chartered no matter how far it goes or how much it carries. There is a method to the madness of setting the minimum price, but I won't go into it too much because in it's basic form, it just assumes that you're gonna incur 3-4 hours of operating cost for any flight you do because of the time on the ground loading and the need to get the airplane from it's present location to the pickup location for the freight.
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snowmanf
Cargo Ideass
I really like the cargo idea... so add me to the list of demandees!
I wonder if this could ever tie in with something like the FSCargo idea???
I wonder if this could ever tie in with something like the FSCargo idea???
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Konny
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hm, probably not. If I got it right, FSCargo calculates how much cargo there is for your flight, you have to load it up by placing your aircraft on the cargo-load-area and bring it to the destination airport.
The problem is that we would need to have our own cargo-amount calculation . Furthermore our client would have to load the cargo into the aircraft itself. So that's nearly everything FSCargo does. There only is this neat cargo-load-area which is one of the things, we can't do.
The problem is that we would need to have our own cargo-amount calculation . Furthermore our client would have to load the cargo into the aircraft itself. So that's nearly everything FSCargo does. There only is this neat cargo-load-area which is one of the things, we can't do.
Konrad - FSAirlines Developer
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ricchio