25-year-old Conklin & de Decker’s new brainchild: Aircraft Cost Evaluator Volume I

Last April, Conklin & de Decker released the newest Aircraft Cost Evaluator (ACE) for 2010 at Orleans, Massachusetts, delivering the most up-to-date operating and ownership cost data available to the aviation industry. ACE is the most extensive operating cost database and is part of the family of aircraft operating and acquisition data products developed by Conklin & de Decker addressing more than 490 jets, turboprops, helicopters and piston aircraft.

ACE is the ideal benchmarking tool and assists aircraft owners, operators, brokers and dealers with important side-by-side operating cost and performance comparisons. During these economic times, it helps users make critical decisions on aircraft acquisitions whether they are downsizing to a smaller more economical asset or taking advantage of the market with a larger aircraft purchase or trade. ACE is currently used by AMSTAT, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Robb Report, and Business Jet Traveler since it is referred to as the industry standard.

The ACE release has added more aircraft like the new Cessna Citation CJ4, Embraer Legacy 650, and the Gulfstream G250. It also has the preliminary data for the new Dornier Seastar, and the PT6A converted King Air C90 and B200 turboprop aircraft by Blackhawk. It also covers the Sikorsky S76D, and the Diamond DA 42NG with the new Austro Diesel engines.

The latest edition of Aircraft Cost Evaluator is priced at $650 for Jets, $550 for Turboprops or Helicopters and $450 for the Piston database.

Conklin & de Decker is a leader in aviation research, consulting and education with offices in Orleans, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. It has been in business for 25 years , the company founded in 1984. It focuses on fixed- and rotary- wing aircraft operating cost, performance and specification databases, maintenance management software, financial management, fleet planning, market research, aviation tax issues, and financial, tax and management seminars. Conklin & de Decker consults with numerous individuals, corporations and government agencies worldwide.

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A380: Popular with tourists but not with U.S. airlines

Ordered by some of the biggest international airlines, few of the A380 have started servicing to New York and Los Angeles. Although the A380 is a hit among tourists, the hefty price tag it has makes it a slow-seller among airlines. Also, 500-seat plane with spacious business-class cabins is seen far too big for any U.S. airline. With the current economic slump, U.S. airlines prefer two or three flights on smaller planes rather than the $300 million A380. To have too few seats than too many is a better strategy for an airline. With too many seats, you have to discount seat prices to fill them, but with too few seats, you can run prices higher.

The two-engine B767 became more popular than the 747 at U.S. airlines on many routes on the Atlantic. So did the B777 on the Pacific and European routes. But the B757 has become the popular one to smaller European cities, and bigger cities like Paris and New York.

Currently, Delta Airlines have sixteen B747-400s, United Airlines have twenty-four but plans to replace them with A350s and B787s.

-blogs.wsj.com