This 1937 Taylorcraft ad has a price listed as ‘$1495 F.A.F.’ What does ‘F.A.F.’ mean?
Judging by the language of the main headline, (Taylorcraft gives you all these features) I’m guessing “for all features”
Fly-Away-Factory condition
I thought it might me ‘Fly Away’ something.
Thanks!
@silenus nailed it. Here’s a cite:
Although note that this search engine includes a bunch of other uses for FAF that are completely wrong for this context.
Does that mean, the listed price does not include any delivery? You (or your agent) are responsible for getting it from the factory to wherever.
That’d be about the same as Ex-Works, right?
Nope, after I look it up. Is there an Incoterm for having to pick it up at the factory yourself?
IMO “FOB Factory” would be the general Incoterm form while FAF appears to be an aviation-specific variant of the same idea:
Buyer takes ownership at the factory gate and the goods’ insurance from that moment forward and the delivery process is all on the buyer.
It never occurred to me that an aircraft would not have an extra charge for delivery.
Yes, Ex Works
FOB Factory means the supplier will load it onto the buyers carrier.
Ex Works means the buyer loads (or drives away) the product from the factory door
This is the equivalent of FAS vs FOB
Great cite. Thanks.
Interesting. In particular, I find it curious that for some of these, the transfer of risk happens at a different time than the switch between obligations. If something is sold as CFR, what’s to stop the seller from loading it on some old rust bucket that’ll capsize and sink in a stiff breeze? It seems to be a period of misaligned interests.
My dad bought a six-year-old, 1970 Cessna 172K from an FBO in San Diego. He lived in Lancaster, CA, and arranged to have the aircraft flown to him. Over MCAS El Toro, the plane lost about six inches from one of its propeller blades. An emergency landing at MCAS El Toro ensued. Since it had not yet been delivered, the FBO paid for a new, cruise-pitch propeller, and had the engine inspected and magnafluxed for damage.
Remind me to measure the prop length before shipping the next time I order a plane. A few flights later and they’ll be down to tiny stubs…
The INCO terms specify the timing of transfer of ownership. Payment is separately defined.
If the seller sets their terms and if CFR (C&F) is agreed and the goods don’t make the port of destination then the contract hasn’t been fulfilled, and the buyer doesn’t pay. The buyers insurer carries the risk and in their terms and conditions will specify the cabotage. With CIF the sellers insurer covers the risk. In either case if the vessel is outside the insurers terms then the cost of the loss will get back to the seller.
Payment for goods might be say CIF B/L 60 days.
Goods are delivered, the cost of unloading and wharf charges are borne by the buyer. They will pay for those services as billed by therir stevedore. But payment for the goods is effected 60 days after the goods are loaded. The voyage might be 10-15 days. It can vary considerably but usually goods are only paid for after the buyer takes delivery.
The rules of international trade have been established and refined for centuries. This isn’t selling used cars by a “fly-by-night” operator.
Understood. I was just wondering how it works. Thanks for the info.
It sounds like it is mostly a question of who carries insurance for that period. Presumably, the insurers work to ensure the reliability of the carriers.
@penultima_thule. Thank you. It is so fun to see somebody speaking fluently about their particular arcane skill. Even if I know next to nothing about it. Enlightening too.
Had a friend who was a staffer in the shipping / compliance department for a major multinational chemical company. Which did all sorts of interesting internal shipping per Incoterms between their Canadian, US, and Mexican factories to garner maximum NAFTA advantage for their finished goods. Then incotermed them all over the world.
Her job was to plot the optimal path of the components and where to assemble them so the good ended up both cheapest, least tariffed, and most exportable tariff-free. It was surprising to me that depending on the product and number of production steps involved the answer was not always the same: make it all in super-cheap Mexico!
From that friendship I learned a few new shipping vocabulary words. Some of them are even postable in a family publication. 
She had an especially choice vocabulary reserved for management’s refusal to believe that compliance actually mattered. Until the Feds seized a whole ship of chemicals when they proceeded with a production plan against her advice.
Perhaps you can relate to this war story?