Originally Posted by
Jetscream 32
Bottom line is Aurigny should not be operating 3 different types of a/c - it is grossly remiss of the management to think they can run an airline with the types of pax numbers they have with the fixed costs for operating 3 types, let alone if any of the crew go sick, take holiday, or hand in their notice to go to another airline.... that is just bonkers! For inter island its not the crew cost that will hurt or the cycles - its the SOPS's for operating in a salt water environment, dont get them right and dont take care of the comp unit and your world will qbe plagued by being in the hangar, this along with the fixed cost of processing the aircraft with terminal a infrastructure.... The only viable a/c for inter-island shuttles in the C.I. is the C208B which is proven without doubt to be safe - I would still run it 2 pilot though - but you have to operate it as a self handled a/c outside of the NASP as you can in Scotland, from a portakabin with the crew doing the checkin and boarding / after all its only 9 pax and will be bale to ensure a 10 minute turnaround.
Please show me how you can fly 500+ PAX into Gatwick on the 6 slots available, 100 ish to Manchester, 50 to Stansted, Bristol, Leeds and East Midlands each day and about 50 to ACI with a fleet of C208B or Twotters. Aurigny aircraft mix is dictated by the very different characteristics of the the routes they serve and the demands placed on them by the islanders. Remember there are only 60k people living there. A mixed fleet is inevitable - I don't see how they could do differently.
PS I understand the problem with the twotters and why they were rejected was engine thermal cycling times.