FLOPS and the "game-changing" Phenom 300

[Heavy Set]

Hey, when are we gonna start seeing those FLOPS Phenom 300s on the ramp? Before summer? I saw what looked like an Executive Airshares Phenom 300 on the ramp at FTW a few weeks back (it looked bigger than the Phenom 100). Pretty nice looking airplane. How many Phenoms will FLOPS get this year?

I read in one of the industry rags that the FLOPS CEO claims the Phenom 300 will be a "game changer" in terms of performance and cost for owners. Really? Let's hope so because you gotta have something unique to sell in this economy. Current FLOPS customers will probably be receptive - I am sure the Beechjet owners will appreciate the performance upgrade if they move over to the P300.

As a former L45 operator, the specs on the Phenom 300 look pretty good. Too bad none of the fracs have ordered the CJ4 - that looks very capable too and it should give the Phenom a run for its money...

 

[johnsonrod]

Hey, when are we gonna start seeing those FLOPS Phenom 300s on the ramp? Before summer? I saw what looked like an Executive Airshares Phenom 300 on the ramp at FTW a few weeks back (it looked bigger than the Phenom 100). Pretty nice looking airplane. How many Phenoms will FLOPS get this year?

I read in one of the industry rags that the FLOPS CEO claims the Phenom 300 will be a "game changer" in terms of performance and cost for owners. Really? Let's hope so because you gotta have something unique to sell in this economy. Current FLOPS customers will probably be receptive - I am sure the Beechjet owners will appreciate the performance upgrade if they move over to the P300.

As a former L45 operator, the specs on the Phenom 300 look pretty good. Too bad none of the fracs have ordered the CJ4 - that looks very capable too and it should give the Phenom a run for its money...

I read that Executive Airshares manages a Phenom 300 for an owner out of FTW.

 

[brokeflyer]

they need to worry about paying their pilots enough to live on rather than buying shiny new airplanes and giving raises to management.

 

[johnsonrod]

they need to worry about paying their pilots enough to live on rather than buying shiny new airplanes and giving raises to management.

Agreed. It's sort of a chicken or the egg scenario. You need nice, new airplanes to attract/retain owners to pay the bills but you also need pilots to fly those airplanes.

 

[brokeflyer]

its not a chicken/egg sorta thing at all. They have the money, they just choose to keep it. That is why this country is so fcked up right now, corporate greed.

times are changing though.

 

[glasspilot]

Seems to me that any frac that brings a new aircraft on property will have many years of losses trying to get the numbers up to critical mass to make a profit.

If you buy one plane and try to service 16 owners spread across the country then the repos will far outweigh the live legs. As you get more and more then the balance can trend towards 50/50 or maybe even 40/60.

Look how long it takes an upstart to get to profitability. Years and years. Maybe having an established fleet can soften the effect by having bigger aircraft available to pick up the slack, but wouldn't that then put pressure on the fragile profitability of THAT fleet?

Anyway, you get the idea. If I ran a frac company these days I'd be petrified to bring on any new aircraft right now. But what do I know?

 

[skyismyoffice]

Seems to me that any frac that brings a new aircraft on property will have many years of losses trying to get the numbers up to critical mass to make a profit.

If you buy one plane and try to service 16 owners spread across the country then the repos will far outweigh the live legs. As you get more and more then the balance can trend towards 50/50 or maybe even 40/60.

Look how long it takes an upstart to get to profitability. Years and years. Maybe having an established fleet can soften the effect by having bigger aircraft available to pick up the slack, but wouldn't that then put pressure on the fragile profitability of THAT fleet?

Anyway, you get the idea. If I ran a frac company these days I'd be petrified to bring on any new aircraft right now. But what do I know?

I think a company like FLOPs can easily absorb the cost of one new plane every 6 months or so. That way you can advertise that the new aircraft are on the property and flying even though the chances of actually seeing one are pretty remote. Even if you do have to give complimentary upgrades to a Hawker because you never have the new aircraft maybe it creates some excitement?

I wouldn't expect to see a rapid influx of the Phenoms into FLOPs. It just ain't gonna happen. I think it is more likely to see a more rapid influx of Uncle Ken's NXT 400s though.

 

[Flex-ible]

Seems to me that any frac that brings a new aircraft on property will have many years of losses trying to get the numbers up to critical mass to make a profit.

Fortunately, alot of fractional owners have SNJ syndrome (Shiny New Jet) as bad as the pilots. When a company brings a plane into a fractional program that no one else has, there are some people who will run out and buy it - just because no one else has it! This is what helps get the company to critical mass faster.

No argument that a bigger fleet equals fewer and shorter repositioning legs. But if that was the only factor, there would be no furloughed fractional pilots right now.

 

[skanza]

they need to worry about paying their pilots enough to live on rather than buying shiny new airplanes and giving raises to management.

Raises to management? What?

 

[brokeflyer]

Raises to management? What?

if you expect a reply to that, than you really need some education son.