Now this is gonna sound so stupid but.... ( hear me out)
Lets say i wanted to operate il-96's on long haul routes up to 6000nm with enough demand for around 20 of the type ( enough for a whole fleet type)
How much would i suffer for using the il-96M over a 777/A330 ( none of these aircraft types are in my fleet so no fleet commonality bonus for any of these fleet types.
Would it be financially Viable to even attempt to use an Il-96M at all? Could i make money?
( if youve any questions or answers about this please ask below)
It's highly dependent on fuel prices. And on opposition. If you fly unopposed with fuel prices below maybe 1000$, you should make some money. Or even good money if the line is underserved. If you face a lot of opposition with better planes, you're going to suffer. Especially if they fly A310-300 or B767-400(up to 5000NM both). 777 are shining on longer routes.
The main advantage ot the IL96 is its lower acquisition cost. But A310 are notorious for surviving far longer than in real life, and are usually cheap also to acquire.
I had a lot of success flying A148, but those babies are just slightly inferior to western aircraft of the same era(roughly 15% more costs, counting fuel and maintenance) - and are twice cheaper. IL96 drinks nearly double fuel, and is only marginally cheaper to buy/lease.
About a year ago we had a cross the Atlantic game with very little SH demand. VL aircraft were hard to come by, and many people utilized the IL-96 and made money. You could make more with western A/C, but in that game you couldn't get them. I don't remember what fuel was.
Aw yes i remember that game world . I operated an airline called "royal british" i totally remember the shortage of everything ...... a great game world ( hint hint sami ;) )
That was my first real GW I payed in for around 4 years. When I had kids I took a hiatus and lost my original account. That GW was a lot of fun.
worst bit was trying to order new planes :o :o :o the que times.......