Still Happy At Avantair

[Heavy Set]

I just talked to a happy Avantair crew at LAS a couple days ago. I got a nice tour of the Avanti and I was very impressed - very comfortable in the back. That Avanti is a real sports car.

I think Avantair is filling a big void in the market (people who don't want to buy more expensive jet shares but still want luxury travel and convenience of flying to smaller airports). That's a big market of people when you think about it - not everyone can afford Gulfstreams. Over relatively short distances the Avanti compares favorably with more expensive jets anyway in terms of flight times - NYC area to Boston or LA to Las Vegas or San Francisco will not see much benefit in a jet. Obviously jets make more sense over medium to longer flights. From what I have heard Avantair has been selling a lot of shares (especially with the higher fuel costs).

 

[Guitar Guy]

...if I see one more aviation-themed video set to the rousing strains of "Learn to Fly", I'm going to run over Dave Grohl's dog.

That's really mean-spirited during this holiday season.


Run over Dave instead: he's the one who wrote that song.

 

[AftCG182]

One last post before I go to bed

One last post and I'm out...

To address a couple of points:

-The cabin is so roomy due to the aerodynamic shape of the fuselage. We actually get 20% of our lift from the fuselage itself. At 5'9" I can just about stand upright in the cabin.

-Avantair is filling a niche in the market. We're optimized for ultra-short to medium range trips. However, we have plenty of owners that use us for long-haul trips. Just my opinion, but I credit it to the airplane's efficiency and low impact on the environment, combined with the high level of crew interaction. It's almost like flying family. The owners don't mind a fuel stop at all. Note: If you don't like connecting with your pax, maybe Avantair isn't the best place for you to work. No bulletproof door here!

-Another thing is giving tours of the airplane. The Avanti is such an attention getter, you really need to like giving tours. You give 'em all the time. It makes remembering the limitations and specs easy when you have to recite them day after day! Also, don't take the harsh comments from the King Air 200 owners & pilots personally. We're their worst nightmare

The jets and larger aircraft operated by the bigger fractionals are pretty much serving a different market than we are. There's never any hard feelings when you sit near a NetJets guy at the breakfast buffet. Again, it's only my opinion, but the big guys like NetJets and Flexjet serve a different customer base than we do.

In closing, I'd like to say that I find it refreshing to actually look forward to going to work, then to be taken care of by the people who sign my paycheck. Flying a kickass airplane and having cool coworkers is just icing on the cake.

As I always say, "keep the blue side up", and have a great night.

Dave

 

[Heavy Set]

What's the "average" upgrade time again - 1-3 years? Also, how many Avanti IIs will be added in 2008?

Thanks

 

[johnsonrod]

I thought I heard upgrades were running at 12-18 months. Looks like a bunch of Avantis (40 now with 100 total by 2012) and some light jets (Phenom 100s) are expected over the next 3-5 years:

http://airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/fractional/avantair.html

 

[mainiac]

Hi Dave

Got your voicemail, of course I'll chime in!
Upgrades are still pretty much right at a year (at recurrent), based on both seniority and merit.
Airplane is a blast, and flying is widespread. On day 4 right now, been from Bozeman, Missoula, back to Columbus, down to Dallas, and overnighting in Oakland tonight.
Get used to giving tours, everyone on the ramp wants to look at "that cool/weird looking thing"!
7/7 is great for me, only commute once a week, and positive space ticket.
Took my whole family on vacation last month on hotel/airline points (including the convertible). Only $$ spent were drinks and meals!
And, always love to brag about my 'paid-for' boat!
(just got some new Volkl skis too!)

Happy Holidays to all the other lucky souls enjoying their Holiday Hotels the next couple nights!

 

[AftCG182]

Here are a couple of answers to the questions that I was checking into-

*Training contract is $22K, one year, prorated.

*As far as Florida bases, we're hiring into PBI at this time.

*As far as the rest of the country goes, we're hiring into "a bunch" of bases right now. Elizabeth is going to get me an updated list when she gets the time. She's very busy, we'll need to be patient.

**This info comes from our recruiter, not the grapevine, so you can believe it.**

More info as it becomes available.

Dave

p.s. yeah, Brian, the boat might be paid for, but I hear that you're still paying for the oars!!!

 

[bailout]

Yup, we were the ones at FL410, burning 500lbs/hr or less! (yes, TOTAL fuel burn!) hahaha!

At what speed??

 

[AftCG182]

Around .65 (By the way, Mmo is .70)

Not bad!

 

[johnsonrod]

Here's another goofy yet entertaining look at training on the P180 (older, non Pro Line 21 version) at Avantair. Seems like it was actually filmed a few years back because I know that things have formalized since then (Flight Safety, etc.). Still, it is entertaining to watch (and get a sense of the P180's speed) despite the Top Gun music. Looks like the P180 is a blast to fly.

Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_T-7ZMeoc4

And check out the nice takeoff of an Avantair P180 on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJ0i3-_Yxc&feature=related

 

[PoorJetDriver]

What are the bases/gateways..

 

[johnsonrod]

What are the bases/gateways..

All but a few of these are open (I believe PIE is full but the others are open):

Atlanta GA (ATL)
Baltimore MD (BWI)
Boston MA
Caldwell, NJ (CDW)
Chicago IL (ORD)
Charlotte NC (CLT)
Cleveland OH (CLE)
Columbus OH (CMH)
Dallas-Fort Worth TX (DFW)
Denver CO (DEN)
Houston TX (IAH)
Las Vegas NV (LAS)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
New York, NY (JFK) (LGA)
Newark, NJ (EWR)
Phoenix AZ (PHX)
San Francisco CA (SFO)
St Louis MO (STL)
St Petersburg FL (PIE)​

Here's the link with more info:​

http://airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/fractional/avantair.html​

 

[AftCG182]

Merry xmas everyone!

To help point out how little a base has to do with where you'll actually be flying...

Today will be an airline day for me. Hop on CoEx in ALB and go to EWR, catch a mainline Continental to LAX, where I'll start this week's tour tomorrow at our maintainence base at Camarillo Airport. Just because the tour starts on the left coast doesn't mean that's where all of the flying will be.

If you're like me and are easily bored with the same old routine, the fractionals might be worth looking into...

I'll have Xmas next week when I get back!

p.s.- thanks for the added info, Rod. The link to airlinepilotcentral.com will answer alot of preliminary questions. Stand by for an updated comprehensive list of which gateways (bases) we're hiring into right now. For accuracy sake, I'll only post info that I get from our recruiter. Let's give Elizabeth a day or two to enjoy the holiday.

 

[Heavy Set]

Merry xmas everyone!

To help point out how little a base has to do with where you'll actually be flying...

Today will be an airline day for me. Hop on CoEx in ALB and go to EWR, catch a mainline Continental to LAX, where I'll start this week's tour tomorrow at our maintainence base at Camarillo Airport. Just because the tour starts on the left coast doesn't mean that's where all of the flying will be.

If you're like me and are easily bored with the same old routine, the fractionals might be worth looking into...

I'll have Xmas next week when I get back!

p.s.- thanks for the added info, Rod. The link to airlinepilotcentral.com will answer alot of preliminary questions. Stand by for an updated comprehensive list of which gateways (bases) we're hiring into right now. For accuracy sake, I'll only post info that I get from our recruiter. Let's give Elizabeth a day or two to enjoy the holiday.

Thanks for the great info Aft and Rod. Definitely different from your typical 121 operation. Nice to see the upgade times are roughly one year and Avantair has considerable growth with new airplanes coming in the new year.

With age 65 and slower movement at all of the airlines likely as a result (including the regionals), I bet Avantair will get a lot more attention.

By the way, I saw a P180 zip along over my house yesterday but I actually heard it first from a distance - you could tell because it sounds like a P-51 Mustang.

 

[learflyer]

Merry xmas everyone!

To help point out how little a base has to do with where you'll actually be flying...

Today will be an airline day for me. Hop on CoEx in ALB and go to EWR, catch a mainline Continental to LAX, where I'll start this week's tour tomorrow at our maintainence base at Camarillo Airport. Just because the tour starts on the left coast doesn't mean that's where all of the flying will be.

If you're like me and are easily bored with the same old routine, the fractionals might be worth looking into...

I'll have Xmas next week when I get back!

p.s.- thanks for the added info, Rod. The link to airlinepilotcentral.com will answer alot of preliminary questions. Stand by for an updated comprehensive list of which gateways (bases) we're hiring into right now. For accuracy sake, I'll only post info that I get from our recruiter. Let's give Elizabeth a day or two to enjoy the holiday.

do u have to pay you're own way to ewr? btw, born and raised in the capital district. miss it. also, it thought pbi was one of the bases?