TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Cape Air's new aircraft

Looks like the flight tests are going well for Cape Air's new aircraft. Hopefully we will see the first ones in SJU in under two years. The old Cessna's are on their last legs!
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http://aviationtribune.com/airlines/north-america/cape-air-first-fly-tecnam-p2012-traveller/

Sounds like a risky bet. Only Cape air has ordered these planes and production is already delayed. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I have always noted 2018 as being the planned in service date. Looks like they will make that. The aircraft is partially funded by the Italian government and combined with private financing looks pretty solid. It's a big leap up from the Cessna 402 in terms of maintenance and should have a much lower cost per flight.
It will also be able to make the round trip from SJU to EIS and carry everyone's bags without refueling. Cape Air has the best 402 maintenance program in the industry and still knows the aircraft are rapidly becoming prohibitively expensive to maintain in a safe condition.
Aircraft in this size range generally don't rack up sales until they are available. The market is however large since there is no other decent aircraft available. The ability to burn mogas is also a big plus!
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That is encouraging news. Past luggage issues influenced our flight choices the last two trips.