The only 3 stakeholders in this situation would be:
1. Me (An entry level pilot looking for the first job) (CPL(A) with 200TT). Ascend Charlie, not to offend you back, but entry level CPL jobs can be tricky to find, and this could be a great opportunity if done right.
2. Some start up company that wants to hire me as a company pilot to fly them around
3. The local aircraft hire company that only provides the aircraft, you pay them after the flight based on VDO or airswitch, fuel charges, air services etc.
Company 2 will not be selling seats to anyone else, this is strictly for the company to get around throughout the day.
Some key areas I identified that are problematic are:
1. Companies go ahead and do the private flying, but land themselves in a courtroom against CASA. 9/10 times they are able to prove that it is indeed a private operation, but it still does take away from the fact that they had to walk into a courtroom. No one wants that in the first place for a variety of reasons.
2. As Xeptu has identified, insurance becomes a bit of an issue, given that the operation is classified as private. Has anyone got any experience with insurance, in relation to company pilot operations without an AOC? im curious.
3. In my opinion, these sorts of operations should not be subject to requiring an AOC. It is unreasonable for sole pilots to obtain one, and by the time you are operational 12 months down the track with an AOC, many opportunities have passed and you are officially broke.
4. For a startup company (Not a mining company, not a corporation, not a politician) , that initially does not have many clients, leasing/owning an aircraft may not make sense, as their just trying to find their footing. And we forget that aviation can be incredibility daunting. And by the time a hypothetical charter company has been paid, they've made no money left. So how can the costs go down further than that? (it wouldnt).
The conclusion i have come to so far, after falling down pprune rabbit holes and speaking to a few operators for the last few weeks is to as CASA love to say, take an approved method of action ie. Contact an aviation specialist/law firm. Get them to establish the company, write up the contracts, write up the duties and responsibilities. Establish the payment of employees, insurance etc etc.
Thoughts?