Still Happy At Avantair

[AftCG182]

No wonder why we always get slowed down or vectored when behind you guys...

What is your typical fuel burn?

 

[Geronimo4497]

Sorry to take so long to get back here. I'll admit, I'm beat from all of the overtime that I CHOSE to work over the holidays. (I wrote "CHOSE" that way to prevent the "forced overtime" flame) Besides, at roughly $300/day+per diem for 1st year F/O overtime pay, my arm does not have to be twisted very hard!

I'm also impressed by all of the resumes that I received that I was able to forward to our recruiter. I'm only too happy to help...

Geronimo, congrats on your first tour! It only gets better...

Yup, same here. Worked 11 days straight. 55.8 block. :laugh:

I personally don't think I will be doing that again, but as a reward, they did send me home non stop on a very expensive, very classy flight.

 

[bailout]

What is your typical fuel burn?

1,200 - 1,300 total at .80 at 43,000, but who cares, I dont pay for fuel,.

 

[johnsonrod]

A big part of our losses stem from the fact that nearly every-other leg is a repo leg. The "powers that be" forecast profitability for Avantair in the 3rd quarter of 2008. That's because we'll have enough aircraft (and crews) so we won't have to repo every other leg. It doesn't take a genious to realize that we don't make money on the repo legs...

The Phenoms will lower the entry-level share cost. That will make the fractional world available to folks with a much more modest income level...

I understand Avantair also operates an G100/Astra to cover broken down P180s too. Given the tight cabin in the Astra, I would expect that P180 owners would be disappointed when it showed up instead of the P180.

When are the Phenom 100s expected to arrive?

 

[AftCG182]

I understand Avantair also operates an G100/Astra to cover broken down P180s too. Given the tight cabin in the Astra, I would expect that P180 owners would be disappointed when it showed up instead of the P180.

When are the Phenom 100s expected to arrive?

The Phenom's are supposed to start coming in '09. I'm not sure what the deal is with the Astra. All I heard was that someone had an idea, the Astra had something to do with it, then the idea didn't work out.

It was before my time here...

 

[AftCG182]

1,200 - 1,300 total at .80 at 43,000, but who cares, I dont pay for fuel,.

You're right, I suppose it doesn't matter. I think I was going to try to play the efficiency/environmentally friendly card, but I had a few beers in me at the time. Now I'm not sure what point I was trying to make...:beer:

 

[johnsonrod]

The Phenom's are supposed to start coming in '09. I'm not sure what the deal is with the Astra. All I heard was that someone had an idea, the Astra had something to do with it, then the idea didn't work out.

It was before my time here...

Phenom 100 looks like it will have a nice cockpit. Gotta like the ram horns. Check it out:

http://www.toulouseweb-aero.com/phototheque/images/toulouseweb/Cockpit Phenom 100 and Phenom 300.jpg

 

[JohnnyP]

......

Doesn't look like much fun to me. Just a bunch of gigantic screens. Blah.

But I guess that's the wave of the future, nothing really to be done about it I suppose.

 

[AftCG182]

I think that the sole purpose of the Phenom is to lower the share price. There's big potential market for the fractionals, but the share price is still out of reach for many of those interested people and smaller companies. The math is simple: at the cost of the Piaggio, shares at Avantair are already popular. The Phenom is less than half the cost of the Avanti, so if the share price decreases accordingly, fractional flying becomes affordable by many more people. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me this morning, but in theory it looks great.

 

[johnsonrod]

I think that the sole purpose of the Phenom is to lower the share price. There's big potential market for the fractionals, but the share price is still out of reach for many of those interested people and smaller companies. The math is simple: at the cost of the Piaggio, shares at Avantair are already popular. The Phenom is less than half the cost of the Avanti, so if the share price decreases accordingly, fractional flying becomes affordable by many more people. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me this morning, but in theory it looks great.

That's true. And when you think about it, there are more people out there who can afford cheaper transportation than more expensive transportation. Why look at buying a share in an Ultra or Beechjet when your average load is 2-3 people and your average flight is less than 500 miles (say LA basin to LAS, SDL or SFO)? The Phenom 100 can handle those loads and those mission requirements with ease. And if you need more lift, you get access to another Phenom or use a larger P180. The Phenom will expose more people to the fractional concept at that low price point - so other fractionals might benefit in the long-run too. I think Alpha Flyers' Grob Jet will also compete effectively at the lower price end but it will be located predominently on the East Coast.

Sounds like Avantair ordered the Phenom 100 to protect its segment of the market - the one with more potential total customers (lower price points).