I was thinking of replacing my A320 fleet with the Tupolev TU 204 100. Looking at some of the basic details the TU 204 carries more PAX, has a cheaper leasing cost and is faster than the A320. So am I missing the 'devil in the details' that would make the A320 a better aircraft to fly domestically within Sweden? Or should I chose the Tupolev? And if I were to replace my fleet how do I accrue the capital if my business is considered 'inappropriate for a loan' with an AAA rating?
I was thinking of replacing my A320 fleet with the Tupolev TU 204 100. Looking at some of the basic details the TU 204 carries more PAX, has a cheaper leasing cost and is faster than the A320. So am I missing the 'devil in the details' that would make the A320 a better aircraft to fly domestically within Sweden? Or should I chose the Tupolev? And if I were to replace my fleet how do I accrue the capital if my business is considered 'inappropriate for a loan' with an AAA rating?
Those are some factors. There are also others to consider:
– The 204 costs actually double the price of the 320 in terms of maintenance,
– It burns also 80% more fuel than the 320, for a passenger capacity increase of 20% – which is a huge issue when fuel prices are high,
– ATC fees and landing fees are slightly higher,
– Check that you have the aircraft you want in the market, otherwise be prepared to wait given the slooo[...]ooow production rate,
– Also make sure that the available variants are enough to cover most of your needs. If you also need lower capacity for some routes, long range, or short field capabilities, you should ideally be able to do it without adding one maintenance category.
In the end, I can't give you any advice on your strategy, or make the calculation for you. It depends on your pricing, your cabin configuration, your expected routes and service, and more.
But there are a lot of details to consider when choosing to go with manufacturer A or B. I would suggest you to use the aircraft comparison tool also, to get more details about the economics of a given aircraft on a specific route.
Technically you will make more money with the A320s and have a more enjoyable experience. Though the TU204s are useful if you quickly want to cover a market and you have a larger cheap supply of them. Though I have never seen any larger airline relying on them for passenger service. I myself use them for Cargo where in some cases they even exceed the 757.
As a Swede myself I regularly see many strange aircraft on daily basis in Malmö for example Avros, ATPs, Fokker50s, Saabs, etc. I have also seen a couple of TU204s here but not very often. Malmö has become quite a good airport lately since Wizz Air offers many direct flights and flying is still the quickest, most comfortable and cheapest way to reach Stockholm. Thereby, I quite often spend time at MMX when i travel and I am afraid that I will soon be more at MMX than CPH due to those ridiculous border controls. For example last week when coming from Copenhagen and I forgot my legitimation they would not consider me as a Swede even if I have thousands of years of Swedish heritage, Swedish name, perfect Swedish language skills, I am born in Sweden and I have my Swedish personal number since birth. I had to ask a friend to come with my legitimation in order to come home. According to Swedish law a Swedish citizen shall always be allowed to return home if he can prove he is Swedish. This is extremely off topic.
– Check that you have the aircraft you want in the market, otherwise be prepared to wait given the slooo[...]ooow production rate,
of a given aircraft on a specific route.
Oh god, those production rates are terrible. Once i wanted to order a bunch for a cargo airline and i had to wait for ages
If you are planning to use it on Otto and there's no used 204 on the market, i would suggest you stay with 320. It takes really long time to wait for new delivery, and time is not something you have on a temporary server. You might never get some of the orders even at the time when the server closed.... Doesn't sounds to be a good plan for cash management.
If you are planning to use it on Otto and there's no used 204 on the market, i would suggest you stay with 320. It takes really long time to wait for new delivery, and time is not something you have on a temporary server. You might never get some of the orders even at the time when the server closed.... Doesn't sounds to be a good plan for cash management.
My airline isn't that big and because ever since I have started there have been at least 5 more Swedish airlines which have popped up so it makes it difficult to grow quickly. Although 6 days is a long time, I can own more tupolevs which means I'd be able to cover more of the market. Good point though.
My airline isn't that big and because ever since I have started there have been at least 5 more Swedish airlines which have popped up so it makes it difficult to grow quickly. Although 6 days is a long time, I can own more tupolevs which means I'd be able to cover more of the market. Good point though.
You need to pay for the orders unless you decide to order it one by one. Another advantage for 320 is the factor that it's more popular than Tupolev. When players leave the server, it's more likely for you to find some on the used market, and it's also a large family, so you can use 318 or 319 if you need a smaller version. But i don't know the availability of both aircraft on your server, so i might be wrong.
Oh god, those production rates are terrible. Once i wanted to order a bunch for a cargo airline and i had to wait for ages
I once ordered 150 TU-204-100C :lol:
They are only useful if fuel prices are low and they are at cheap 2nd hand rates
I once ordered 150 TU-204-100C :lol:
And it took you 3 years to get them :D
And it took you 3 years to get them :D
before it got to that point I sold the company :lol:
It's probably still delivering some... :P
320
Readily available
Faster deliveries
Better field performance
Better fuel economy
Shorter turnarounds
204
Cheap
More pax per flight (less than 321though)
You also have to consider that the Airbus aircrafts not only have a much faster production time; A318-A321 also have the same maintenance category and therefore provide you a nice variety of aircrafts. Furthermore you can buy the A320 and A321 at the same time as they are produced in different plants and therefore have a differend production queue.
To sum up: The TU 204 100 is great at the very beginning if you want to grow fast as the investment needed per seat is very low and the marging you get with the current fuel price is ok. But as soon as the money to lease aircrafts is not the limiting factor anymore other aircrafts are better (On a new server this can already be after few months). Then the main limiting factor is the very slow production rate.