Ha - Dai-Fence Monkey.

I meant me actually, but if the hood fits......

Highflight, many times I have seen quotes on here that have tended to slag off some of my Clients. I have let go those comments knowing full well that what they think and say, are not in line with what's actually going on. I therefore tend to let my Clients get on with their jobs and let their performance answer any long standing questions.

May I suggest you turn it down and let Blink do the talking.... I'm sure they don't need your sniping to enable them to continue in their day to day travails.

LGW Vulture,

No-one is slagging anyone off, we are discussing a theory. Blink have very deliberately courted PR, with claims such as Europes First Air Taxi Service, 30% cheaper than other alternatives etc etc etc. They did this to be noticed and discussed, and it has been successfull. The claims that they were going to revolutionise the charter business are unlikely to go un-noticed and as such they put themselves up for judgement, the fact that some people agree and some people don't does not constitute slagging off, simply discussion of a topic.

Their marketing is proving succesfull at obtaining many direct clients, I have spoken to more than one broker who has lost clients to them. But as yet no-body knows if it is going to be successfull as in increasing the balance sheet or showing a return.

If we were discussing the Merits of an Apple Mac over a PC< or a Blackberry over an iPhone, nobody would get all bent out of shape, it's just not normal.

PB

Phil, you miss my logic. I'm telling Highflight to let Blink answer the questions not him! If they are as sound as he likes to make out, then we will see that in their survival alone.

I'm with you guys in that I think it doesn't look good given they are showing airframes for sale already, in what is the most depressed business aircraft market ever known.

And, if slagging off is deserved, then so be it.

LGW,

I didn't misunderstand you, I got what you were saying, just didn't think we were slagging them off.

"i'm not convinced that the model will succeed" = not slagging off.

"They are doing a cr@p job" = slagging off.

I'm pretty sure that no-one of any importance at Blink gives a flying F&*$k what I think, and are probably less than impressed that this daft tugger is being their self appointed spokesman.

Oh well,

Wow! There are some really ruffled feathers out there - Blink is clearly a company causing waves in the UK industry (if not Europe?)!! If you want a revolution get the people talking....:}

The truth is none of us know what true position Blink is in at the moment - regardless of reports from Companies house (no company is truly transparant) - and their management is probably sharp enough to know that sending out the right messages to the market (including employees!) supports their business.

The acid test is 2 fold:

1. How long have they been around? If less than year then the news that they are selling assets is not good. If they are passed year 1 then they have a higher probability of survival.

2. The market will decide. If they have a good product, a strong price and have not eroded their margins by pumping their investors cash into buying market share then they will see a return correlated with the amount of business they win.

Yes we can speculate untils the mustangs come home what their intentions are and it could be whole number of permutations...e.g buying out shareholders? increasing liquidity? Restructuring the balance sheet for the purpose of sale? :eek: Or simply trimming to meet projected demand? etc.. etc...

Some of the guys I occassionally fly with see their cute little jets at various European airports on a regular basis so they seem busy. Client feedback? Who knows but if they are getting repeat business and are winning long term clients they cant be all bad! They appear to have high visibility backed by a strong brand which is slowly getting recognised. :cool:

I am going to put a bet that England have a 50-1 chance of beating Germany on Sunday and a 2-1 chance that Blink are undertaking long term posturing to sell their business in 2-4 years if they can hang on long enough. Any takers? :}

Maybe pressure from this pprune thread???, but I note that Blink removed two of the listings for their (for sale) Mustangs - and currently one listed officially for sale.

Maybe they sold them already? ;)

ok Phil when you are back from shoving you head up where ever

and pissing around on pprune

please get on with the business of selling charters as I have only frown 78hrs this month.

if our poor downtrodden crews ever stop whinging we really will be in trouble.

besided we will need the money when the poor deluded tosser sues us!!

Robb,

I'd seriously doubt that this thread carries that much weight at Blink Towers, just amongst their FO's.

MKB.

Enjoy your 4 days touring the Garden route you poor downtrodden sould you.

Phil

It makes business sense not show all your cards errr aircraft for sale at one time. A well known fractional company has always 1 aircraft of a fleet they want to dispose of for sale. Once that is gone they will advertise the next, etc. :} This way you don't saturise the secondhand market of a particular type ;)

With 33 Mustangs already being shown as available for sale - then saturated it already is! :uhoh:

True but you saw the reactions on this thread already when Blink advertises 42.8% of their fleet. That is the kind of thing you want to avoid.. :ouch:

No RYR,

Are we not overestimating the influence of this thread? No offence to us, but if my company was getting a bit of a beasting by us lot, I don't think I'd care that much.

PB

I hope my company does not get Beasting up :}

But yes and no... However the power of Google is such is that anybody doing any background search on Blink might end up here.. :ooh:

Thanks phil

does that mean I get 3 days off

I think I should change my user name to Poor (old) Deluded Tosser, but then everyone would know who I am!!!

Have you sold anything today you lazy bastard.

Oi,

I'm on a day off!! - back Wednesday - Wimbledon tomorrow.

Phil

I feel slightly ill now, can we go back to talking about Blink....?

no its just a money thing!!!

Is blink not selling the a/c as they made pilots redundant and couldn't fly the planes they have?

As someone who has worked for a start up I do notice that many of there staff become like "religious converts" who do not see issue apparent to others. PR is a two edged sword so no complaining when the claims are put under the microscope.

I do not fly ethier the mustang or the P100 but I have to say the P100 seems to me a superior product.

hi ad did u get to sa

On many flights Blink are MORE expensive than most CJ1's etc... The Mustang isn't as good as a CJ1, therefore why would anyone want to pay more....for less?

I guess the start up capital is running out, and there is no desire from investors to keep pouring water into the blink spounge.

They have successfully got some people to charter, that otherwise wouldn't have done so, but when the client see's the CJ's they're parked next to in Cannes or Geneva and finds out its the same or maybe less cost.........:ugh:

Flynow....post later.....

Where have you been....keep up boy!

Aircraft at Blackbushe
 

Does it not stand to reason that if you've had two to three aircraft almost permanently on the ground at Blackbushe for near on the last two years, perhaps three now, it's time to get rid of a couple at least? Another winter looming and those birds will just get covered in snow and ice for another season not going anywhere.

Avioactive....good point well made and all that, but, if you were in the position of having aircraft underutilised picking multiple bases to spread your markets would be the right thing to do....exactly what Blink have done.

If they are offloading excess supply, and marketing the hell out of the concept whilst doing the smart thing of multi-basing, It is for the good of the company......so, whilst the concept of a huge fleet of VLJ's is probably not likely in this, or any economic situation, they are adapting as they learn and while that may sound really patronising, it's not as patronising as the press releases that told us how they had invented an industry that we have all spent 20 years working in.

I think we all have suspicions that the concept does not work on the scale that was originally designed due to the scaleability (sp) of certain departments within a bespoke service product, but credit where credit is due, their business decisions are unflawed (except, obviously the one where they signed up to 45 mustangs and told all the brokers they don't need them).

PB

LOL thanks Phil. That is a classic :D

Quite right Mr B. Surely they must have realised that this might raise a few eyebrows within an already very established and potentially over subscribed market?
A company round my way have developed the blink principle on surface transport...... they're called Ali's cabs. If only I'd have thought of this. Phil, why do we keep missing the boat?..........Urika!!!, lets sail boats between Dover and Calais and allow lorries and cars on board. This time next year Rodney....

London Executive Aviation selling off December 2010 delivery position . . .

2010 CESSNA CITATION MUSTANG Jet Aircraft For Sale At Controller.com

Maybe Ambeo will be next to move their's on when the Phenom arrives :cool:

Blink vs LEA
 

The main difference between LEA and Blink is that LEA is a well established charter operator who did not claim to change the world but just that the Mustang is an aircraft that moves some Kingair Customers to Jets. As far as I know most of the LEA aircraft are privately owned... and the orderbook is less than 45 :8

Here from 2008 :ok:

On paper specs maybe - but I have heard that performance is nowhere near the specs, particularly landing performance.

Think LEA just received there first Phenom 100 G-CGNP a few days ago, serial number 50000146

-NP is a Legacy 500, not a Phenom :)

Not on G-INFO it isn't...EMB500 is the CAA's way of saying it's a Phenom 100. Is this owned by LEA or managed?

In fact, the L500 hasn't even flown yet...

Then I stand corrected... :oh:

edit/ Ah, I see... wake up at the back! :p :O

Having sat in one last week, I cant help but be really impressed with the Phenom. Its a big little jet and anybody who picks a mustang over it (notwithstanding the extra $400k) is nuts.

Regarding this "extra" performace are we not gettting confused with pre first flight pledges against certified data. I'd like to think that what the book says is exactly what it will do, no more no less, it would be unusual for the manufacturer to put 2000 hrs on a pair of test frames and not spot a little extra performace that operators have found having put a couple of hundred hours on them. I doubt the FAA/EASA would allow a 5% innaccuracy good or bad in the data

Its also not unusual for FADEC engines to give a little extra thrust at ISA + 1 or +2 as opposed to the ISA figures which are commonly quoted beefing up the rumours that its better than book.

5% seems a little too good to be true from testing to line flying, but from design to certification would seem a little more believable

2 mins on google found this

Great aircraft by all accounts, whatever the story with the performance

Is it an idea to make a seperate Embraer 100 vs Mustang thread?

Back on topic: how many are still advertised as being for sale?

Mustang "toilet"
 

Highflight420, you wrote that people are actually using the toilet in the Mustang. Well, these must have been some serious emergencies then.

Do you have any special fitments in the Blink jets to provide more privacy? I can hardly imagine any passenger (especially female ones) taking a leak (or worse) just behind the FO's seat, in full view from the passenger cabin.

I'd seriously be interested in how a commercial operator handles this problem.

There is a curtain between the cockpit and the cabin and another that goes around the toilet itself - its not ideal but many passengers, male and female have used ours at Ambeo without problems. We always suggested to passengers they use the toilet at the FBO before flight.

Mustang
 

Thanks for your reply. I would have expected the high-end clientele using such air transport services to be more picky about the toilet issue.
It was one of the things which I thought would make running a commercial service using Mustangs difficult. Interesting ...