Buying & Leasing Aircraft
From AirlineSimPedia
In the last step, you should have opened at least two offices; your next job is to set up a schedule! At this point you will, naturally, need at least one aircraft to schedule, which the aircraft market can provide you with.
Contents |
Procedure
Go to Company → Aircraft market → Manufacturer. You will find an alphabetical list of all the aircraft manufacturers - along with their production lines - included in AirlineSim. If you select a particular line, you will recieve a list with all the variants, including the most important figures as a quick reference. If you select a variant, you will get to a detailed information page. After making a decision as to which specific aircraft you're after, you may select one of the offers.
Notes
The upper part of the information page on the specific aircraft contains all basic information. You will figure out the meaning of data here just by looking at the figures. Some figures are explained here separately:
- The number of Passengers is the maximum capacity of the aircraft. This limit can only be hit with a one-class layout of the cabin with the basic seat. If you want to offer more classes or more luxury the aircraft will seat less passengers.
- The range of the aircraft is mentioned in two different values. The smaller shows the range which will be reached with a full payload. The maximum range can only be reached at a minimum load. You can quickly check the particular payload-range intersection for given points with the Performance chart.
- The runway length the aircraft needs. The smaller value is the shortest possible length for atake-off or landing; the higher value is the needed for a fully-loaded takeoff.
- The Noise Emission Category indicates the noise level of an aircraft. This ranges from I (very noisy) to V (very quiet). Noisier aircraft pay higher ground charges, and may be banned from certain airport entirely.
- The Maintenance Category shows the specific maintenance group that the aircraft falls under, for the purpose of determining fleet commonality and resulting maintenance expenses.
Buying and Leasing
| State | Buying | Credit Financing | Leasing |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | yes1 | dependent on credit rating1 | dependent on credit rating1 |
| Used | yes2 | no | yes2 / dependent on credit rating3 |
1 If the type is still in production
2 Need approval of seller or lessor
3 If the lessor is AS Leasing
New Aircraft vs Used Aircraft
There is an important distinction to be drawn here, particularly for a brand new airline; your choice of new or used aircraft may in itself dictate how your airline behaves. A few general points to consider:
New aircraft are likely to consume less fuel than older variants; a new aircraft will be cheaper to maintain than one identical but for being older, and aircraft age has a direct impact on passenger perception, which may allow you to sell more tickets on the aircraft, or charge higher prices. However, aircraft ordered from the manufacturer are not delivered instantly; delivery may take between 6h and 42h, depending on the aircraft type. If you order several new aircraft from one production line, the orders will added to your order book. This will not be influenced by other companies except for those in your holding. The delivery date will be displayed both in your standard fleet overview and in your order book.
Used aircraft are cheaper to buy or lease - sometimes significantly so, depending on the age of the aircraft - and can be available immediately. It is generally recommended that a new airline start with used aircraft, both due to the limited funds available to a new company and due to the immediate availability of the aircraft.
Buying or Leasing
You may choose to buy or lease aircraft. If buying, you will have to pay the full price of the aircraft right away. If leasing the aircraft, your company must have an adequate credit rating, and you will have to put a certain amount of money down as a security deposit. Additionally, you will have to pay a weekly fee to the lessor. Once the aircraft is in your possession, however, you may use it as you like.
If you are unable to pay the weekly fee for a leased aircraft, it will automatically be returned. Both you and the lessor have the ability to cancel a leasing contract at any time; if cancelled, the aircraft will be returned to the lessor when the next weekly installment is due.
Most new companies begin their operations with leased aircraft. With the exception of very small or very old aircraft, outright purchase is not financially viable for a beginner. Additionally, leasing provides you with the flexibility to return aircraft you may find unsuitable to your routes. Some older aircraft may not be available on the leasing market; in this case, you may want to check the AirlineSim Forum for a company specialising in leasing.
Remember - establishing a second holding to provide your first holding with aircraft leases is considered cheating, and will not be tolerated.
Credit Financing
If you buy a new aircraft, you may take the option to finance it fully or in part on credit. This loan must be paid back according to the standard conditions in AirlineSim, and interest will be charged. To take the opportunity you must have an adequate Rating. All available plans will be automatically be offered.
Abbreviations used in the Buying and Leasing Screen
Below you will see an explanation for the abbreviations icons used in the aircraft market screen:
- AS = Airline Sim offer
- The aircraft is offered through an official AirlineSim enterprise when marked green. When red the aircraft is offered by another independent players enterprise.
- AU = Sellers Signature
- The seller has pre-approved the aircraft buying or leasing contract by signing the contact already when green highlighted. When red, the seller keeps the right to review your offer before signing the contract. Only independent players will use the option to prevent selling or leasing an aircraft to an competitor or particular player.
- KU = Buyers Signature
- An potential buyer has signed the contract already, which is awaiting the approval from the seller. All AS offered aircraft are pre-approved (KU=green), so the moment you sign the contract, the airplane will become available to you. As for none approved contracts (KU=red), you will need to await the signature form the seller before being able to use your aircraft.
Choosing Aircraft
Choosing an appropriate aircraft for your intended route network could probably take up a whole tutorial in itself, so this article can only really give you general advice:
- Use the Performance Tool, available on each aircraft's information page. This will provide you with a quick check of whether the selected aircraft type is appropriate for a certain range and whether it is compatible with the runways of the airport pair in question.
- Is the aircraft you're looking at so loud it may be banned from one or more of the airport in question? Remember to check the Noise Emission Category!
- Similarly, remember to check the Maintenance Category of the aircraft - maintaining several fleets of different aircraft can become logistically complicated - and, for your purposes, expensive!
- Is the aircraft large enough - or small enough? You won't always know precisely how big an aircraft you need for a route, but you should have a general idea; you're never likely to need an A380 to fly between two tiny cities! Checking up on what the competition's doing can be helpful here.
- Is the aircraft reasonably economical on fuel? Remember that fuel consumption is not linear - it takes a lot of effort to get a large, heavy plane off the ground, but not as much to keep it in the air once it's up; aircraft that are suitable for long flights may not be as suitable once the range gets low.
- Is the aircraft attractive to passengers? Older aircraft - particularly those that are more then 20 years old - tend to be lacking in this regard, but the individual type of aircraft has a role to play here too; generally speaking, passengers prefer jets to props, and large aircraft to small.
- Is the aircraft still in production? This seems obvious, but buying into an aircraft that was only ever produced in small numbers may complicate your operations down the road with regards to fleet commonality.
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