Buying the Big Jets

Paul Clark worked for more than 20 years at Airbus, then established and managed AirBusiness Academy in Toulouse for three years. He spent almost two years at the helm of IATA’s global training operation based in Montreal, followed by four years in the United Arab Emirates where he ran an aircraft maintenance academy on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government. He is currently based in the UK, where he runs his aerospace consultancy called Through The Looking Glass Ltd (www.ttlglearn.com). Paul is a former Visiting Professor at both City University and Cranfield University in the UK and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is the author of Stormy Skies and the creator of the SkyChess airline business simulation.

Comments on earlier editions: ’This well organized book fills a huge gap in aviation literature. Clearly written, with excellent use of diagrams, it provides an insight into and an understanding of fleet planning, the cornerstone of airline management.’ Rigas Doganis ’The airline industry is very complex and one in which it has always been very difficult to make money. A key component of the multi-faceted challenge is the way to accommodate highly variable demand with a pre-determined number of aircraft, each with a fixed capacity in the short term. Paul Clark in his book Buying the Big Jets provides a comprehensive, lucid, and an informative guide for airline fleet planners to optimize their capacity resources in the fiercely competitive marketplace. It is a must-have book for airline practitioners responsible for fleet planning because of the experiential insights contained in the book on a broad spectrum of relevant topics and an equally beneficial book for students of the airline industry to learn about complex subjects such as market segmentation and spill, aircraft performance, and investment appraisals.’ Nawal K. Taneja, Ohio State University, USA ’Buying the Big Jets has succeeded in bringing together, in an easily understandable form, the many factors that currently influence the aircraft purchasing process...a useful tool to broaden the knowledge of specialists involved in the process...a good balance has been achieved between breadth and depth and the book will be of interest to a wide spectrum of technical and non-technical readers.’ The Aerospace Professional ’...a valuable examination of the current practices in aircraft evaluation and selection, clarifying the new fleet planning methodologies and decision making processes...of great value to professionals with fleet planning responsibilities, students of air transport and for the banking community, where insights into aircraft acquisition are vital.’ Air International

• PrefaceChapter 1. Foundations of Fleet PlanningChapter 2. Timing and Fleet PlanningChapter 3. Developing a ProcessChapter 4. The Air Ballistic Case StudyChapter 5. The Market EvaluationChapter 6. Cabin and CustomisationChapter 7. Aircraft PerformanceChapter 8. Aircraft EconomicsChapter 9. Investment AppraisalChapter 10. ConclusionAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3Appendix 4.1Appendix 4.2Appendix 4.3