Derry/Londonderry 2

[Fly757X]

Originally Posted by Cyrano

That explains why there are so many successful regional airline startups these days, right?

Before you go too far in your cunning plan to demand PSO funding up front to cover startup costs (surely an offer that the PSO granting authority couldn't refuse?), please look into the concept of "financial fitness".

Here's an extract from a relevant page of the CAA website (my emphasis):

Applicants for a Type A Operating Licence must demonstrate that they have sufficient funding for the first two years of operations, including that they are able to meet their costs for the first three months of operations without income.

The exact amount of funding is established by the CAA based on a realistic business plan submitted by the applicant.

The idea of starting an airline is very seductive. It is also an exceptionally fast route to financial disaster. I would love to see more regional airlines and my sincere good wishes go to anyone with a well-founded plan for launching a new carrier, but I'm sorry, if you come in to this forum and announce in your very first post to an audience which includes a range of current and past airline professionals who still bear the scars "You would be surprised how little startup capital is needed to start operations with a single ATR 42..." you lose every shred of credibility in my eyes. How many regional airlines have you been involved with?

If you are interested in this area, then I would genuinely encourage you to study it in more detail, whether at college or by working in the industry to gain a basic sense of how precarious the economics are.

As stated here it is a high risk start. Starting airlines have a lot of under lying costs. Many of them are fundamental to applying for suitable licences. It just cannot be done with out a huge outreach to investors and having that stability in the back pocket. Have a look at Firnas. They are too ambitious in my eyes but they do have an aircraft in livery. This was achieved through years of support from investors and research from business representatives. Not the type found on this type of forum. With your plan it is af you get awarded this lot of if/buts. For example, iPSO contract (Won't happen when there is long established British/Irish companies competing for it) You will then use the money intended for establishing the base and route to fund the equipment. Completely omitting the fact you need type rated pilots and feet on the ground to ensure a smooth operation. LDY-Greater London is also a very niche market. One can simply not intend to operate a PSO route as their only source of "income."