Originally Posted by
Sunfish
Wawa zone, you might invest your money, but no investor I know (starting with the entire venture capital crowd and high net worth squad) is going to touch an investment where some person from CASA can decide to do a Glen Buckley on you.
Investing because you “have political contacts” or “know someone in CASA’ or “know how to keep in good with CASA’ or “know how to get CASA to fix things” has a name; it’s called official corruption and it’s a felony.
If you have any examples, we’d like to know.
You lot have been busy.
Sunfish, the venture capital and high net worth crowd are going to look at a coinciding business and political opportunity and then pay a visit to the Minister for political approval, which translates to the politician's ethos of maximisation of political benefit and minimisation of political risk. CASA will then be briefed from the political end, as opposed to first getting an application for an AOC from someone. No serious investor I know is going to touch an investment without this protection.
Also no serious investor is going to touch a piston GA operation per se unless they are a proprietor of same, with industry experience. Walk around any GA airfield and see a dozen of them beavering away. I have already alluded above to the care and feeding of the CASA Man by operators at this level. Do you think Joyce at QF bends over and jumps through hoops ?
Re your four phrases bound by inverted commas; none are a criminal offence unless they lead to criminal conduct after the golf afternoon is over. I have just described the necessity for political contacts if you intend hauling lots of passengers.
Speaking of golf days, lets go back in time. Lets imagine that Bloggs, an established out-of-area RPT Metro operator wants to displace three established PA31 RPT AOC holders within a potential new market. He reasons that the local Member(s) would like to take credit for a new flash shiny airline and that CASA would like to reduce the number of AOC's it has to administer; ie., benefits for all. After he establishes that the three existing battlers have little contact or pull with the local MP, a few feelers go out. Within a year the march of history has rolled on, the Banks have recovered the fully secured loans for the ratty PA31's, a couple of the ex-RPT route holders have gone bust, and everyone is cruising around in Metros.
Good idea ? Not for some, but is there not a nett benefit for everyone else ?