JENNINGS, Kan. -- The BCI Falcon 45 drew the attention of a lot of curious coach operators at the UMA Motorcoach Expo in New Orleans early this year.

Potential buyers were cautions about ordering one, though, worrying that the combination of a new touring coach especially one assembled in China distributed by an upstart company might be too big a risk.

And, then there were the questions:

Would someone be willing to finance it?

Was the distributor still going to be around in a few years?

What about product liability insurance?

Would parts be easily available?

How about service?

Phillip and David Oldridge, brothers and principals in Bus & Coach International of Jennings, in rural northwest Kansas, heard all of the questions from the many operators who toured the bus, sat behind the wheel, checked out the engine compartment, kicked the tires, peered into the luggage bays, and examined the underside.

And, the pair apparently came up with many of the right answers.

The toughest questions, and obstacles, had to do with the financing issue because of the red flags that new buses and new companies usually generate when lenders are talking about big dollars.

The Oldridges figured the best way to get favorable reviews from lenders was for them to learn about the Falcon 45 up close. So, they took it on the road for some of them to see and invited others in for personal looks.

At the same time, they talked up their business, emphasizing that they have more than 50 years of combined experience in the motorcoach industry and that they'd hooked up with some of the biggest names in the motorcoach business in America, Australia and China.

"Making sure financing was available was a big hurdle, and we got over it," says David Oldridge, the technical guru who, more than anyone, developed the coach from the group up.

What about parts?

Concerns about the availability of parts were eased by BCI forming a partnership with one of the country's largest automotive parts suppliers, NAPA. The company matched up all of the routine service parts in the Falcon 45 with NAPA part numbers so mechanics across the country could easily find just the right part, and get it delivered quickly.

"They don't have to go back to a dealer or a manufacturer to get a part and they don't have to go looking for them," says David Oldridge.

He also stresses that the NAPA connection makes it possible for operators to have their coaches serviced almost anywhere, including at their own neighborhood garage where many small bus companies often enjoy doing business.

Getting the right answers to the tough questions has helped sustain interest in the coach since the UMA Expo. After Las Vegas-based AWG Charter Services broke the ice and ordered the first eight just after the Expo, several other companies followed. (See March 15 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

A hit in Georgia

Among them was Travel Time Charters of Douglas, Ga., where general manager Erwin Koster says the Falcon 45 has become a big hit with drivers, mechanics and passengers.

"Wherever you go around the countryside out here it gets a lot of 'ooohs and ahhhs' from just about everybody," he said. "They've never seen anything quite like it."

He said the Falcon 45s handling and reliable braking are popular with drivers, while the mechanics like the easy access to the engine and other key areas of the bus. And passengers enjoy the comfortable ride and standard leather seats.

"It's just an amazing, awesome coach," said Koster, adding that it seems to out perform many of the coaches he drove while working in Europe for 10 years. "When we have to buy another coach, it will be a Falcon 45."

Although BCI has not released sales figures, David Oldridge said the company is on track to have 50 sold and on the road by year's end.

While the Oldridges believe that finding the answers to the initial concerns of the operators had much to do with the sales record so far, they like to think, too, that the coach itself and its price tag $359,900 fully loaded were major contributors as well.

Although assembled in China, the coach is loaded with parts familiar to U.S. coach buyers Caterpillar, Eaton, Michelin, ZF, Bendix and AIT, which offers some degree of comfort to potential buyers.

Feature laden

And, it's loaded with standard features that most manufacturers offer as options or add-ons. Among them are a back-up camera that automatically engages when the coach is put in reverse, LCD video screens, cordless microphone, electric driver sunshades, passenger chime buttons, decorative curtains, adjustable footrests and leather seats from Spain that automatically return to the upright position within two minutes after passengers depart.

BCI chose China for the assembly site because it allows them to load the coach with attractive features while holding down the cost, according to David Oldridge, who notes that technical and engineering support costs and labor expenses are well below those in other countries.

"The biggest cost to an operator is the cost of ownership of a coach," said David. "Every cent counts for them, especially for the small operators."

He shrugs off the idea that having the bus assembled in China could be a turnoff for potential buyers and, instead, points to the growing number of major U.S. companies with manufacturing operations in China Motorola, Nike, General Motors, General Electric and Boeing. Thats pretty good company, he says.

With just about a year of production and sales under its belt, BCI is gearing up for 2008 with a number of improvements and additions to the Falcon 45, some of which were suggested by customers.

Listening to customers

A number of customers and others suggested the company offer a fully automatic transmission that could be substituted for the Eaton Ultrashift transmission that now comes standard on the coach. BCI plans to have available for the 2008 model an optional fully automatic Caterpillar transmission for an extra $10,000.

"We listen to our customers and are responding to them," said David Oldridge.

The company also plans to zero in more on safety and will offer as standard equipment the Eaton Vorad anti-collision radar warning system that helps drivers keep a safe distance from vehicles in front of them and warn them of vehicles that are on either side of them.

In addition and this could surprise many in the industry seat belts will become standard equipment on the 2008 coaches, and buyers will have the option of turning the belts into three-point passenger restraints at no extra cost.

"We want to make our coaches the safest on the highway," stressed David.

He maintained that although most people in the industry are generally skeptical about the need for seatbelts in motorcoaches, he believes they can save lives and reduce injuries by preventing passengers from being thrown out of a bus during an accident or from being tossed from side to side during a rollover.

"Those claims that belts wont help passengers in a bus accident are pure hogwash," he said. "They have them on planes and in cars and they should have them on buses, too."