We were founded on a few basic fundamentals. Safety always comes first and is the top priority of every crewmember in the company. We consider it a great privilege to be given the opportunity to manage and operate these airplanes.  We take this safety-first attitude towards everything we do. Another important area we strive to be the best in is cost management. Every decision, whether big or small, weighs heavily on cost effectiveness. From day to day operations to the future outlook, we constantly attempt to keep operating costs at their leanest level without ever compromising safety. 

     One major area cost can easily escalate is airplane maintenance. As you know, airplanes are on a scheduled plan for maintenance inspections. Every maintenance event is very thorough with an enormous amount of equipment and systems that are inspected. In most cases, flight departments rely heavily on the maintenance facilities’ expertise when making decision to replace or repair discrepancies found during inspections. With our years of Hawker Beechcraft airplane experience and direct manufacturer support, we are able to examine each discrepancy to make our own determination for course of action based on safety and cost efficiency. 

     As owners and operators of corporate aircraft, you may often wonder how the pilots seek to reduce your direct operating costs further.  One important area for cost savings is fuel purchasing. As we all know, fuel prices have become the major factor in variable cost in aircraft operation. As a base customer with Hill Aircraft, we are able to negotiate a favorable price for fuel and monthly hangar rent. We purchase the majority of our fuel from our home base which saves us several dollars per gallon vs. buying fuel “on the road”.  The Beechjet consumes on average 200 gallons per hour and the Hawker 850/900XP consumes roughly 250 gallons per hour. Our flight crews, utilize Contract Fuel programs at most destination.  Companies such as Corporate Aircraft Association (CAA) and Baseops International help provide us consistent fuel savings.  By leveraging relationships with suppliers, vendors, and agents around the world, these contract fuel providers offer greatly reduced pricing. While the exact amount we save per gallon varies by market, the average discount seems to be $1.00 - $1.75/gallon. By taking an average savings of $1.25 per gallon, one can easily see that represents an hourly savings of approximately $250.00 (200 gph x $1.25/gallon). In 2017, the total hours flown were 1,038 hours. Assuming the availability and utilization of Contract Fuel services just 25% of the time, this amounts to a total estimated cost-savings of $64,875 in 2017 alone!

 

     However, fuel savings doesn’t stop there. We still do purchase a large amount of fuel on the road. What goes on behind the scenes for each flight begins several days earlier during flight planning.  During this planning, we begin research on fuel purchasing options. The potential to choose an alternate airport near the intended destination can also enhance cost savings.  This involves negotiating fuel prices with Fixed Base Operators (FBO) and comparing each FBO’s price with competing FBO’s. Landing and overnight fees play a role in our determination of which FBO to choose.  Given the particular pricing, we decide the most economical FBO for each particular mission.

 

     By raising owner awareness of our participation in these valuable programs, helps maximize the cost-savings whenever possible.  Choosing the correct airport and FBO increases the opportunity to save substantial money. As the cost of fuel has taken over as the largest single operating expense, each dollar saved through proper flight planning and our contract fuel programs go directly to the bottom line.