20 replies to this topic

[Go Fly ATL]

Who else is able to turn a profit off a large regional a/c fleet?

[warnern28]

ME, but I'm in S3C. Delta Connection... 617 aircraft, all RJs/turboprops, 463 of them Bombardier CRJs with NONE carrying more than 76Y (max is CRJ-1000ER with 12C/76Y) My airline only operates 11 aircraft that are above 76 (16C/102Y) and that's only because the A318 had the minimum runway length and range I needed for a smaller hub. That being said, if there was a 2000mi+/4000ft rwy RJ I'd definitely have a hundred of them.

 

Turns out that an all RJ airline can be surprisingly profitable.

[Go Fly ATL]

I used them fill in the small holes between my hubs...I have around 130 or so hubs I took a look at your fleet, how do you utilize your prop a/c? More specifically the Q400, a good chunk of your fleet should be Q400s. With the right routes the Q400 is a cash cow!

[Appassionata]

Q400/ATRs seem to be a cash cow! CRJ-1000/CS series are also very good.

[warnern28]

My props are only used out of East Hampton (HTO), since none of the RJs offered had below the 4300 ft minimum runway length that the airport required. I'll agree the Q400 certainly has its benefits, but I generally find turboprops to be too slow to efficiently schedule. The more flights an aircraft can be loaded with, the more money they can bring in, my most profitable Q400 brings in $64,818 while my top CR7 in the same config turns $77,864 a day.

[mxax-ai]

I usually use the ATR-72 because of its high range and very low fuel flow. For long and thinmroutes I also like either ERJ or CRJ, both are good.
The CRJ-1000 has the problem of very low range compared to other smaller aircraft, which limits its routes a lot, so I prefer the Embraers in that size.

[warnern28]

I actually find the CRJ-1000s to be very useful. The only issue that prevents me from buying more than the 27 (1000/1000EL/1000ER) that I already have is their EIS date. It's almost 7 years beyond the first CRJ-900 which I bought in massive quantities and have already filled up most routes with. The CRJ-1000 seems to be a bit late to the party for me.

[Will101]

In R-delta I operated Susa before I ordered a couple hundred 737s I only used aircraft such as; DHC7, Fokker 27, CRJ family, DHC8s etc. I found this very profitable.

[Go Fly ATL]

I use the props and regional jets on routes less then 1k miles,  even though some of the routes aren't profitable my airline is at the point for a few a/c not making a huge profit isn't a big deal.  Check out my fleet! I have 300 Saab 2000s on order and nearly 300 CRJs on order and so forth.

[Pineair]

My props are only used out of East Hampton (HTO), since none of the RJs offered had below the 4300 ft minimum runway length that the airport required. I'll agree the Q400 certainly has its benefits, but I generally find turboprops to be too slow to efficiently schedule. The more flights an aircraft can be loaded with, the more money they can bring in, my most profitable Q400 brings in $64,818 while my top CR7 in the same config turns $77,864 a day.

All RJ's can operate on runways of 4,000

[Go Fly ATL]

My highest profit I have had on a Q400 was around 170k or so!

[Go Fly ATL]

My highest profit I have had on a Q400 was around 170k or so!

[Go Fly ATL]

opps! Double post!

[EthansInControl]

I have a large fleet of ERJ145ER's and ERJ145LR's. But i have a fleet of 717 to, not sure they count as reg ac.

[Go Fly ATL]

The 717 is also a cash cow!

[warnern28]

All RJ's can operate on runways of 4,000

Not true at all. NONE of the RJs on offer can operate on a 4255 ft runway like the one in use at HTO. Only the base CRJ200 comes close, with a 4261 ft. minimum runway requirement.

[Northern]

On AE they can

[warnern28]

Then I must be doing something horribly wrong, because I've tried every small RJ I have (every aircraft in both the CRJ and ERJ family) and none have been able to get into HTO. I actually had to reacquire all of the SF340s that I had dumped a few months earlier for new routes. If anyone can point me to a useable RJ that can operate at least 1000mi on a 4200ft runway let me know, those Saabs are getting up there in age.

[Go Fly ATL]

What about  the Saabs? I have almost 300 in my fleet, with many more on order! They fill in all the little holes in my route network.

[warnern28]

Well I've got 30 of them at the moment, but they're out of production in my world and getting old... I love them, they're great little planes to fill in holes like you said, but it's getting time to retire them for good.