5 replies to this topic

[benem]

Hi

 

I'm flying on S2 three fleet types: 737 Classic, 737NG and A330.

 

What happen if I'll order, to have more plane to fly, another type of planes, say some A320?

 

Is there a penalty in having more fleet types?

 

Thanks

 

[pablofrej]

No

[GBWings]

Not that I've found, but it might be best to retire older types and operate as few types as possible.

 

Currently on my S3A airline, I have 17 types operating currently, but am looking toward paring back.

 

To illustrate, I'll break them down into how I think of them:

 

Long-Haul fleet:

 

747-200B

747SP

707-320C

DC-10-40

DC-10-30

DC-8-73

757-200

767-200

 

The DCs and 707s are getting replaced by the 757s, 767s, and a future order of 767-300ERs and maybe some 777s.

 

The 747s are going to be replaced with 747-400s and some 777s.

 

Medium-haul:

737-200 Advanced

A300B4

MD-83

BAe-146-200

 

The MD-83s and 737s will be replaced with A320-200s, while the A300s are not scheduled to be replaced yet.  They are used on high-density routes to the European continent from my bases in the British Isles.

 

The BAe-146s are used for low-cap routes to Europe, domestic British routes, and medium-haul routes from London City.

 

Short-haul and commuter fleet:

 

DHC-7

Cessna 208

HP.137 Jetstream

J-31 Jetstream

S-61

Westland 30

AW109

 

The last three are helicopters, primarily for service to and from Tresco and Penzance with the S-61s, or inter-London routes with the AW109s and W30s.  The Cessnas are going to replace the HPs as well as serve the Orkney Islands, while the Jetstreams are going to be used in commuter routes around Britain alongside the DHC-7s

 

Also, even if you get the money to purchase new planes outright: don't.  Lease them at first.  I ran into a major cluster with the DHC-7s and ordered 200, thinking I could use them all, but then decided to go with the 146s. so now I'm stuck taking deliveries of planes that I have no use for anymore, but the frugal in me won't cancel the orders because I bought them.

[berubium]

Penalty might not be the right word, but there is a base cost for every fleet type you use.  Check the aircraft maintenance tab under airline finance.  If you operate 5 planes under 5 different aircraft families, your airline will surely go bust as the maintenance costs for each aircraft would be astronomical.  Once the airline gets larger, you can afford to have more fleet types.

 

To give you an idea of the base costs for fleet types, I'll give you the example from the airline I currently have open.  It uses Boeing 737Classic, Bombardier CRJ, & Bombardier Q-Series.  Right now, the average Boeing monthly maintenance cost is between $132k-$148k per plane, but the base cost for the fleet type is $2,314k which is more than the total maintenance costs for the 15 planes I currently have of that type.  My total maintenance cost for the 15 Boeing 737Classic aircraft is $4.4 million per month.  If I only had one 737Classic, it would be $2.4 million per month.

 

Sometimes I'll start with two aircraft families right out of the gate, but I generally don't add families until I have at least 7-10 aircraft in the types I'm currently using.  In fact when I'm getting a new family type, I will often defer deliveries so I get my first 7 or so planes all in one shot so then I'm not overpaying maintenance costs for the first few months.  I rarely have more than 5 or 6 aircraft families total, but you can certainly get away with having more than that.  If you strive for a certain degree of realism, you shouldn't have too many different families or too many redundant ones either.

 

You see spamlines with a zillion types of planes that are hugely profitable so you can make just about anything work really.  You just have to be mindful of that base cost & never operate a very small number of aircraft in any family type.

[benem]

Thanks for the answers. It is clearer now.

[alexSD]

but i think the Airbus A330 and A340 can be token in 2 families, not in 1