Small planes

[StuartTaylor]

What im interested in knowing from the more experienced players is, are smaller planes worth it? I ran a few of these but ended up declaring bankrupcy and now run a fleet of large planes.

Please help!

[Mahon]

Depends upon how small, and where you're flying them. I think it would be hard to make an airline work with just Beech 1900D's (particularly if they're not running full right from the start). On the other hand, my most recent attempt got off the ground with DHC-8-100's.

[Sami]

Well of course flying a small plane does not give you that much money and your profit margins are much thinner with those. But there's no reason why they wouldn't work.  ...though very small planes like twin otters only do not work as the cost structure has been optimized for "real" airlines so to say. And these air taxi companies etc have usually veryvery thin organizations.

[ban2]

tell me

[StuartTaylor]

Thanks guys. Guess I will keep my larger leased fleet going rather than buying small then.....

[Unbornio]

Well of course flying a small plane does not give you that much money and your profit margins are much thinner with those. But there's no reason why they wouldn't work.  ...though very small planes like twin otters only do not work as the cost structure has been optimized for "real" airlines so to say. And these air taxi companies etc have usually veryvery thin organizations.

The maintenance costs of the smaller planes are almost equal to those of a 737? 

While the 737 earns way more...

[demage]

The ATR 72 has virtually the same A B C and D check costs as the 737-500 and carries half the passengers.  The little guy is getting ripped off by these maintenance companies.   

[demage]

On further inspection, make that the 40 seat ATR 42 and the 66 seat ATR 72 have the same A B C and D check costs as the 128 seat 737.  That's probably why fleets with small aircraft can't make a profit.

I hope there are a few modifications to the game to make it more competitive and less frustratng.   

[demage]

Don't forget the Beechcraft 1900C with a pax load of 19 compared to the 737 with 128 pay virtually the same amount for their A B C and D checks.  How would you ever make a profit on a Beechcraft?  Looks like you only make the big profits from the big planes on international routes.  I might lease a Beechcraft to see how much I can lose once I cop the C check.

[Dazwalsh]

I have a fleet of 10 ATR42's making about 2.5 - 3 million a week in pure profit. they are profitable if used on the correct routes, i.e low demand routes less than 300nm. I find there is tonnes of routes where the demand is 50 -70 passengers a day and the AT42/72 fit perfectly on these routes.

[Mahon]

On further inspection, make that the 40 seat ATR 42 and the 66 seat ATR 72 have the same A B C and D check costs as the 128 seat 737.  That's probably why fleets with small aircraft can't make a profit.

I hope there are a few modifications to the game to make it more competitive and less frustratng.   

But they CAN make a profit. I started with an all DHC-8 fleet in my most recent airline. I made SIGNIFICANT profit flying regional flights in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan before I ever bought any planes larger than 50 pax.

[Kastor]

It is possible to run airline on 50-70 seater turboprops, but they will not make tons of money, however they are still able to provide steady, slow expansion. I started with 5 DHC8-300 and still have them, but also have 11 F100s and those make 2-3 times more money.

[Unbornio]

With the EMB-110s, you barely make money... Lucky to even break even. 

[demage]

Dazwalsh, Mahon and Castor,

You have convinced me.  I will stand up for the little guy and push on with my small planes.   

[Firejet]

small airplanes work but get a steady base on middle sized aircraft then expand by the 10s and 20s per order with small aircraft then they can make profit.

[Dazwalsh]

heres proof the make money, they used to earn double this but heavy competition on the routes (sometimes with Fokker 100 and 737';s) have reduced their profits somewhat.



they are also good for slot hogging especially when slots become rare, i can pull an ATR route early in the morning to make way for a 767 takeoff that will make a 100,000+. i have done this plenty of times so there is some gaps in the schedules of those planes too.

[blair21088]

DAZ, the problem lies int he fact that the C/D checks for most of the small aircraft are not much lees expensive than a 737, which will make a lot more money. Also keep in mind that the fixed maintenance costs from the fleet commonality page are not included in the aircraft profit calculation. When you factor those two things in the margin on small aircraft becomes much, much less than what yuo can achieve with a 737/a320.

[Dazwalsh]

C checks are once a year though, and D checks shouldnt be a worry if you are leasing because you can just get rid of them before D check runs out, these are minor costs compared to what the aircraft makes per year, yes they should be a lot less costly for C and D checks but thats how the game is at the moment and we just have to play along. its like comparing chalf and cheese an ATR to a 737, they both serve different purposes on the route network. The cost of aquisition is also something to consider, you can get 3 ATR42's for the price of 1 737-300.