Its Fractional King Air Time

[rajflyboy]

I have thought about this equation for years. King Air 350's used in fractional ownership.

Start up with 105 orders and wants to be attached to a jet provider

I have thought for years about how well the King Air would work in certain areas of the country.

Oh well. Now we will see If I was right or wrong because its "King Air Fractional" time.

What do you think?

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...s-card-founder-back-king-air-350i-flight-club

 

[el raton]

Been done before. Can't remember what Raytheon called their fractional.

 

[ProFracPilot]

Been done before. Can't remember what Raytheon called their fractional.

It was Travel Air.

That sucking sound you hear is the vacuum of turbo prop fractional demand left from Avantair that is about to be filled by Wheels Up.

 

[Photoflight]

Isn't alpha flying doing this already?

 

[DirtyBeech]

It's a bit of a step down from Avanti to Pilatus I would think. From a near jet to a single engine B200.

 

[johnsonrod]

Good news for unemployed Avantair pilots IF they want to stay in the business and they like that lifestyle. Personally, I'd look to the airlines as retirements increase if you have the minimums and a few internal connections - but that's just me. As I mentioned a few times, Spirit is hiring fractional pilots.

Regardless, it is an interesting concept! The King Air 350 is definitely big, versatile and fun to fly from what I hear... Hope the economic model they are proposing works.

 

[brokeflyer]

With crappy management it don't matter what plane you use.

 

[ksu_aviator]

Not likely to be that successful. For $125K a year you can get your own airplane, crew it and fly it more than 30 hours. There are tons of King Air 350 operators in the US that offer more than just the 350.

 

[johnsonrod]

Who thought Marquis Card would be that successful at first? You never know. A lot of it is about branding and positioning. The fact that Avantair has sunk has created a market opportunity at the lower-price end of the spectrum. This guy wants to fill the void with a brand. It's all about building a brand... Plus, there may be many ex-Avantair owners who will be interested at the beginning based on the similar price level and product class. Regardless, he will mitigate his risk by starting in the Northeast and seeing how it goes before expanding...

The complimentary "wheels down" service sounds interesting and could become a differentiator depending upon what it offers. This CEO sounds like he actually understands quality service based on what I have read. He successfully built and sold Marquis Card - he has a track record. Is he the same guy who married the founder of Spanx?

 

[rjacobs]

For $125K a year you can get your own airplane, crew it and fly it more than 30 hours.

Bull ********************.

Show me the math.

I have broken down a King Air 200 flying 200 hours and it was somewhere in the 500k range all said and done with full crew costs, mx, hangar, hourly operating, cleaning, charts, etc... and that was with the crew managing the airplane, hotels, rental cars, etc... not including any airplane payments which could possibly be another ~500k(assuming a 5 year term on a 2.5 million purchase price on a used -200).

A 350 would be even more in all respects.

 

[wingnutt]

...might be able to charter 30 hours a year for 125k

 

[OPECJet]

Dichter has some rock star power behind him. I'd take a chance on it.

 

[DUATS]

the lower-price end of the spectrum.

$3,950 an hour for a turboprop is the lower end of the price spectrum? Sounds pretty high to me.

 

[johnsonrod]

$3,950 an hour for a turboprop is the lower end of the price spectrum? Sounds pretty high to me.

Good point. Not the cheapest out there. Perhaps not so bad if you spread it across 8 seats. There will be cheaper and faster alternatives - but how he positions the brand and the extra services might make a difference... He will spend a lot of money building the brand - the same way JetSuite is attempting to do. Should be interesting to watch.

 

[Sparse]

Been done before. Can't remember what Raytheon called their fractional.

Citation shares started with three brand new king airs out of HPN. Wayfare Starshares I think was the name.

 

[fischman]

Sure was nice of them to broadcast the Global for NetJets during Kenny's debut.

 

[jonjuan]

Sure was nice of them to broadcast the Global for NetJets during Kenny's debut.

Yep-I thought-that's a big "King" as he put it. A few other strange comments:
-It's a turbojet engine.
-it's the safest plane in the world. The military uses it.
He kept talking about cost per seat with 8 people on board. Andrew Sorkin jumped in and said "If you fill all the seats."
-it has Internet, but good luck using it for long when much of the time on these shorter, regional trips will be below 10K.
-Who will fly these "Kings?" With what they are charging, what can they realistically pay their pilots? Sounds like they'll all have to live in the NE. Will it be single pilot?
-What's the average pax load? It surely isn't anywhere near 8.

 

[BentOver]

Yup this will work because what could go wrong with a startup turbo prop fractional that charges almost as much as chartering a nice shiny jet...

Remember all Kenny did with marquis is resell a commodity that already had a great reputation. And at a time when the rich spent frivolously...

 

[AftCG182]

I have thought about this equation for years. King Air 350's used in fractional ownership.

Start up with 105 orders and wants to be attached to a jet provider

I have thought for years about how well the King Air would work in certain areas of the country.

Oh well. Now we will see If I was right or wrong because its "King Air Fractional" time.

What do you think?

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...s-card-founder-back-king-air-350i-flight-club

You've been waiting for this, eh raj? :laugh:

 

[gunfyter]

Yup this will work because what could go wrong with a startup turbo prop fractional that charges almost as much as chartering a nice shiny jet...

Remember all Kenny did with marquis is resell a commodity that already had a great reputation. And at a time when the rich spent frivolously...

I have always thought you get there no faster in a jet than in a King Air for short stage lengths ....

I asked this about the P180 and I was corrected on their landing performance by a few people here; but, what would you rather be in when going to a field with contaminated or wet runways -- a jet with no t/r s or a King Air?