Talk about the high cost of aviation!

[C J Campbell]

A local limo driver managed to back into the wingtip of a Falcon jet the
other day, bending the wingtip slightly. The small piece of aluminum,
containing mountings for the wingtip lights, had to be replaced. None of the
lights, the wiring, the light cover, or any other part of the airplane was
damaged.

This little piece of aluminum cost $27,000. It cost $8,000 to install it.
You know, you can buy a pretty nice car for $35,000. Or even an airplane.

When I studied economics in college, I learned about reverse demand curves:
there are some luxury items that the demand increases when the price goes
up, diamonds and perfume being classic examples. Some of these jets look to
me like they are being priced like jewelry. Car & Driver several years ago
reviewed an exotic sports car that had a wing on the back. C&D called it the
"Hyundai wing" because if it was damaged, the cost of replacement was more
than that of a new Hyundai. So, what, we call the Falcon's wingtip the
"Explorer wingtip?"

--
Christopher J. Campbell
World Famous Flight Instructor
Port Orchard, WA


For the Homeland!

[karl gruber]

******there are some luxury items that the demand increases when the price
goes up*******

We learned a long time ago not to put good fresh expensive coffee aboard the
airplane. Demand goes up and the coffee is completely consumed. Then there
are complaints about not enough coffee.

From that day forward only the worst FBO made coffee went aboard. It tasted
terrible, but never ran out. We never had a single further complaint.

Karl

[Wizard of Draws]

karl gruber wrote:
>
> We learned a long time ago not to put good fresh expensive coffee aboard the
> airplane. Demand goes up and the coffee is completely consumed. Then there
> are complaints about not enough coffee.
>
> From that day forward only the worst FBO made coffee went aboard. It tasted
> terrible, but never ran out. We never had a single further complaint.
>
> Karl

Great customer service Karl.
Why not go the extra step in the opposite direction and have more of the
good stuff? I find it hard to believe that providing good coffee for
your clients is a ball-busting expense.

It's been my experience in business that people are willing to pay a
premium for quality and customer service above and beyond the ordinary.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

"Cartoons with a Touch of Magic"
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Rosspilot]

>> We learned a long time ago not to put good fresh expensive coffee aboard
>the
>> airplane. Demand goes up and the coffee is completely consumed. Then there
>> are complaints about not enough coffee.
>>
>> From that day forward only the worst FBO made coffee went aboard. It tasted
>> terrible, but never ran out. We never had a single further complaint.
>>
>> Karl
>
>Great customer service Karl.
>Why not go the extra step in the opposite direction and have more of the
>good stuff? I find it hard to believe that providing good coffee for
>your clients is a ball-busting expense.
>
>It's been my experience in business that people are willing to pay a
>premium for quality and customer service above and beyond the ordinary.

At which end of the spectrum is your business?

You're either hauling cattle . . . the "no frills" type passenger who would
rather save $20.00 to buy a cheap ticket with no amenities (and there are lots
and lots of them--a huge market to be sure). This airline is not going to have
great coffee., and you aren't going to expect it. ANY coffee is a surprise.
<G>

Or you're in the business of transporting your *clients* as comfortably, and
cordially as is possible. You want them to come back to you EVERY time they
fly. You are appealing to the segment of the market that has money, and wants
to travel "pampered" and in luxury. This coffee HAS to be good. If it isn't,
you should bitch. :)

This is not anything new in my view.



www.Rosspilot.com

[Craig]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message >...

a bunch snipped from here....

If it was a Falcon 20, there is a mandatory set of inspections on the
gear and the wing attach area and spar for any impact outboard a
certain wing station. We had one of ours hit hard enough to damage the
aileron, and it spun the aircraft about 5 degrees. Total cost was in
excess of 275,000$, and we lost the use of the aircraft for nearly
three weeks. And yes, that was our direct costs, as we were a Falcon
repair station and able to handle everything but the x-ray work.

Craig C.

[Tom S.]

"Rosspilot" > wrote in message
...
> >> We learned a long time ago not to put good fresh expensive coffee
aboard
> >the
> >> airplane. Demand goes up and the coffee is completely consumed. Then
there
> >> are complaints about not enough coffee.
> >>
> >> From that day forward only the worst FBO made coffee went aboard. It
tasted
> >> terrible, but never ran out. We never had a single further complaint.
> >>
> >> Karl
> >
> >Great customer service Karl.
> >Why not go the extra step in the opposite direction and have more of the
> >good stuff? I find it hard to believe that providing good coffee for
> >your clients is a ball-busting expense.
> >
> >It's been my experience in business that people are willing to pay a
> >premium for quality and customer service above and beyond the ordinary.
>
> At which end of the spectrum is your business?
>
> You're either hauling cattle . . . the "no frills" type passenger who
would
> rather save $20.00 to buy a cheap ticket with no amenities (and there are
lots
> and lots of them--a huge market to be sure). This airline is not going to
have
> great coffee., and you aren't going to expect it. ANY coffee is a
surprise.
> <G>
>
> Or you're in the business of transporting your *clients* as comfortably,
and
> cordially as is possible. You want them to come back to you EVERY time
they
> fly. You are appealing to the segment of the market that has money, and
wants
> to travel "pampered" and in luxury. This coffee HAS to be good. If it
isn't,
> you should bitch. :)
>
> This is not anything new in my view.
>
Our partners gave up the executive on-call charter service and now fly a CJ1
and just stock soda's on board. Their cost is about 1/3 or 1/2 of the
charter operators that provided "Red Carpet" service. Of course, we're
hardly a Fortune 500 firm. :~)

[Wizard of Draws]

Rosspilot wrote:
> >
> >It's been my experience in business that people are willing to pay a
> >premium for quality and customer service above and beyond the ordinary.
>
> At which end of the spectrum is your business?
>
> You're either hauling cattle . . . the "no frills" type passenger who would
> rather save $20.00 to buy a cheap ticket with no amenities (and there are lots
> and lots of them--a huge market to be sure). This airline is not going to have
> great coffee., and you aren't going to expect it. ANY coffee is a surprise.
> <G>
>
> Or you're in the business of transporting your *clients* as comfortably, and
> cordially as is possible. You want them to come back to you EVERY time they
> fly. You are appealing to the segment of the market that has money, and wants
> to travel "pampered" and in luxury. This coffee HAS to be good. If it isn't,
> you should bitch. :)
>
> This is not anything new in my view.
>
>
>
> www.Rosspilot.com

From my point of view, clients are not to be taken lightly, regardless
of type. It's the little things that customers appreciate and remember.

If clients only wanted bare bones, there would be no market for mom &
pop hardware stores, Home Depot and Lowes would be all that we need. But
smart mom and pop hardware stores _do_ thrive in the neighborhoods of
many of the big boxes, by providing the level of service that HD/Lowes
is unable to. They don't handle luxury or pampered clients, just Joe
Schmo.

Karls' clients have provided him with an insight into their desires, and
he responded by doing exactly the opposite. I don't understand this way
of doing business at all.
Customer service is #1, period. _Exploit_ your knowledge of the clients
wants and needs, don't ignore it.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

"Cartoons with a Touch of Magic"
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Newps]

Wizard of Draws wrote:

> If clients only wanted bare bones, there would be no market for mom &
> pop hardware stores, Home Depot and Lowes would be all that we need. But
> smart mom and pop hardware stores _do_ thrive in the neighborhoods of
> many of the big boxes, by providing the level of service that HD/Lowes
> is unable to.

Are you kidding? At least around here Home Depot and Lowe's hires
plumbers for the plumbing department and electricians for the electrical
and lighting departments, etc. Go to the Mom and Pop shops like Ace and
Hardware Hank and if you don't get the owner you'll get some high school
kid and you'll be lucky if he knows where the plumbing aisle is. If I
know what I want I'll go to Ace, because it's closer. And I'll pay more
by the way. If I need help I'll stick with Lowe's and HD.

[vincent p. norris]

>When I studied economics in college, I learned about reverse demand curves:
>there are some luxury items that the demand increases when the price goes
>up,

I'll bet your prof tried his damndest to get you to remember that it's
the *quantity* that goes up, not the demand. "Demand" is the
*relationship* between price and quantity, and consequently is not
itself affected by price changes.

(Just nit-picking, but after grading papers for 34 years, it's hard to
quit.)

But in this case, I suspect it's the monopoly position of the supplier
that explains the high price. Many years ago, someone calculated what
a plain old Chevy would cost if one bought all the parts and assembled
it himself. Far and away more than the price of the car.

vince norris

[Mike Rapoport]

Falcon parts are notoriously expensive. The whole airplane is held together
with titanium screws that cost $8 apiece.

Mike
MU-2


"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
> A local limo driver managed to back into the wingtip of a Falcon jet the
> other day, bending the wingtip slightly. The small piece of aluminum,
> containing mountings for the wingtip lights, had to be replaced. None of
the
> lights, the wiring, the light cover, or any other part of the airplane was
> damaged.
>
> This little piece of aluminum cost $27,000. It cost $8,000 to install it.
> You know, you can buy a pretty nice car for $35,000. Or even an airplane.
>
> When I studied economics in college, I learned about reverse demand
curves:
> there are some luxury items that the demand increases when the price goes
> up, diamonds and perfume being classic examples. Some of these jets look
to
> me like they are being priced like jewelry. Car & Driver several years ago
> reviewed an exotic sports car that had a wing on the back. C&D called it
the
> "Hyundai wing" because if it was damaged, the cost of replacement was more
> than that of a new Hyundai. So, what, we call the Falcon's wingtip the
> "Explorer wingtip?"
>
> --
> Christopher J. Campbell
> World Famous Flight Instructor
> Port Orchard, WA
>
>
> For the Homeland!
>
>
>

[Wizard of Draws]

Newps wrote:
>
> Are you kidding? At least around here Home Depot and Lowe's hires
> plumbers for the plumbing department and electricians for the electrical
> and lighting departments, etc. Go to the Mom and Pop shops like Ace and
> Hardware Hank and if you don't get the owner you'll get some high school
> kid and you'll be lucky if he knows where the plumbing aisle is. If I
> know what I want I'll go to Ace, because it's closer. And I'll pay more
> by the way. If I need help I'll stick with Lowe's and HD.

I brought up HD because I used to work for their ad dept. You've seen
Homer? I used to draw him. I have stock in HD and appreciate every dime
you spend there, thank you.

HD and Lowes will hire ex-contractors if at all possible, but it isn't
possible in every market, for a variety of reasons. The number of pros
they need to staff the stores isn't always available. I brought up this
issue long ago and was pooh-poohed by management. They have since found
out the reality. The stores in my area, here in Atlanta, _home_ of HD,
were more often than not, staffed by some part-time high school kid.
Part lack of qualified pros, part deliberate attempt to keep down
salaries and have a work force that was willing to work all hours. Try
to staff a store with pros 24 hours.

Ace and Harware Hank are chains and not what I mean by mom and pop
stores. I mean the _real_ no name stores.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

"Cartoons with a Touch of Magic"
http://www.wizardofdraws.com
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[karl gruber]

******Why not go the extra step in the opposite direction and have more of
the
good stuff? I find it hard to believe that providing good coffee for
your clients is a ball-busting expense.*******


Has nothing to do with expense. A King Air 200 with nine passengers and two
crew loaded to the hilt with baggage and whatever gets carried on has no
extra room for more coffee. The approved container only holds so much.

Karl
Fortunately, out of that business now.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Wizard of Draws wrote:
>
> Ace and Harware Hank are chains and not what I mean by mom and pop
> stores. I mean the _real_ no name stores.

The ones that keep their nails in bins and scoop out however many pounds
you need.

George Patterson
They say that nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is,
death doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.
Will Rogers

[Tom S.]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Wizard of Draws wrote:
> >
> > Ace and Harware Hank are chains and not what I mean by mom and pop
> > stores. I mean the _real_ no name stores.
>
> The ones that keep their nails in bins and scoop out however many pounds
> you need.
>
Home Depot and Lowe's do that (at least in my town).

[Montblack]

("Tom S." wrote)
<snip>
> I notice that Microsoft and Wal-Mart don't have oppulent trappings in
their
> corporate HQ, and 220 of the 1990 Fortune 500 aren't there anymore.

I wonder how many of those 1990 Fortune 500 companies went belly up vs. how
many were purchased, or mergers, etc?

--
Montblack

[Tom S.]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
.. .
> ("Tom S." wrote)
> <snip>
> > I notice that Microsoft and Wal-Mart don't have oppulent trappings in
> their
> > corporate HQ, and 220 of the 1990 Fortune 500 aren't there anymore.
>
> I wonder how many of those 1990 Fortune 500 companies went belly up vs.
how
> many were purchased, or mergers, etc?
>

Mergers and purchases are typically "distress" sales. Just going out and
buying a Fortune 500 company isn't a common practice.