It's where all the clients go who can't afford, or don't want to pay for, Swiss (or conscientious British) management.
How to run an Austrian AOC:
- Sweet-talk an owner into giving you his plane, based on the premise that it's a good investment (
not usually the case)
- Put it on the charter market at hilariously low prices (e.g. 17k return Split-Paris in a CL30)
- Charter the butt off the plane
- Charge the owner huge fees to cover the cost of operating the plane, while pointing out that you can't charter it any more
- Charge the owner further fees for maintenance and interior refurb after 3 years because it's been trashed by charter pax
- Sell him a new plane after 5-7 years and start all over again
The thing is, principals don't help themselves - I intimately know a small company here that tried to charge their client real prices for operating the plane, while promising to give him every penny of charter revenue. The client recoiled in horror, and, overnight, the plane is at a different company, operating to the above model...
And before anyone says I sound jaded, at one time I made my living from this same model. The more flights, the more I earned. Hurrah!
Edit: I guess this is also good for charter customers too. Double hurrah!