"If the aviators of a specific country do not buy the planes produced in the country, then nobody will." These are the words of Constantin Voicu, head of Aeroclubul Rom=niei (Romanian Air Club) and the first client of the new plane launched by the Ghimbav-based plant on the market: IAR 46.
Aeroclubul Rom=niei got four aircraft and is expecting another five this year, so that its total fleet will reach 32 IAR 46 planes. Each aircraft costs $95,000, VAT exclusive.
This is a good price for a new plane, those in Brasov say, who are hoping they will manage to sell the aircraft abroad, as well. IAR is a light, training plane and may take two pilots on board: the flight instructor and the pupil.
The best outlet for this aircraft in Romania is the one of the state-run operators (IAR Ghimbav is hoping to sell to the Aviation Academy, as well), but the company is also expecting to convince well-off private pilots.
The price per flight hour is $72, deemed as competitive by the producer, compared with the other aircraft currently operated in Romania. Export is the stake, though.
The competition on the international market is fierce. In the United States, for instance, the leader is Bell Textron, which sells the famous monoengine Cessna-152.
The price per aircraft amounts to about $150,000 and may increase in case the owner wants special equipment to fly the plane during nighttime or a more powerful engine.
Other competitors are Piper Aircraft or Mooney, which may charge up to $500,000 for a deluxe monoengine plane (300 HP engine, high-altitude pressurisation, etc).
"So far, we have supplied Aeroclubul Rom=n (Romanian Air Club) four aircraft and it ordered us another 32 for the territorial air clubs. Our target is to position the plane on the international market. We are aiming at the European and American markets. The price is yet to be set, as it depends on the facilities requested by the client, but we may say it will be lower than the one of the competition, though. In order to make our sales successful, we will open a network of representative offices in the US and in the European countries," Corina Raileanu, IAR marketing adviser, said.
Several possible American partners have placed offers, which are to be analysed by IAR's management.
"We are interested in setting a ceiling for the sale price of the aircraft to include the commission of the representatives, as well. There, they will negotiate cuts of their own commission, while the company will have a fixed income," Raileanu added.
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