Originally Posted by
TwinAisle
This single statement proves to me that he is clueless.
Firstly, he is an airline, not a travel company, so he does not need an ATOL. Airlines are not covered by ATOLs, tour operators are; if he was going to set up Atmosphere Holidays (and I am aware I may have given him another mad idea...) then he would be advised to get an ATOL. Right now he doesn't need one. ATOLs and AOCs don't come in pairs like policemen and low comedians.
Secondly, the figure of £10m is laughable. The CAA will, as they do with all new applications for an AOC, assess his business plan, taking a long hard look at his cost and revenue assumptions, until they are comfortable they are achievable. Example, if he is claiming that he will get a yield on LON-BKK in Y of £600, they will point to what they know BA are getting and adjust accordingly. When they are happy with his model (and on the model I have seen, they are probably still wiping tears of laughter from their eyes, let alone adjusting it), they will look at the minimum cash position over the first two years, and they will want to see that he can operate for three months without revenue. It sounds crude, but if he can't do that the CAA will regard him as underfunded and will NOT grant the AOC - and from experience the CAA are correct to do this.
Given he is talking about a long haul full service scheduled carrier with an intensive network, his cash requirement will be WAY in advance of £10m. Off the top of my head, they will want to see fat end of ten times that.
The first step for an AOC application - the VERY first step - is a meeting with the authority where they will explain all this and to provide guidance about the process. He clearly has NOT done this.
Getting an AOC is not a black art. It is actually not that difficult - if you know the rules, you stick to the rules, you follow CAA guidance and YOU HAVE THE MONEY.
I would say our hero fails on all four of those points.
TA
Couldn't have assessed it better myself, TA.