Bance Air

[PAXboy]

I have looked for another thread about this but could not find, if there is, then please merge or delete this.

Flight International 18-24 April 2006 page 10
Bance to open London - India route.
UK real estate investment and distribution company Bance Group is to launch an international carrier that will initially operate between London Heathrow and India using a fleet of leased Boeing 777s.

The company's chairman Dave Bance says the airline, to be called Bance Air, aims to obtain its air operator's certificate and begin services by the end of this year.

There are another six paragraphs but that is the important stuff. They do not state where they will source the a/c or the specific destinations but they plan to expand to other destinations as well. Cargo will be considered. An initial £23m ($40m) has been made and they are seeking further external investments.

[sevenforeseven]

There is no more room for airlines to fly LHR (Any UK Airport.) to DEL. The sector is saturated with carrieirs at the moment. Virgin Atlantic X 1 Daily, BA X 2 Daily, Jet Airways X 1 Daily Air India X 4 Daily.
Loads on these flights are at an all time low about 30%.
I think any new entrant is doomed for failure.
But I could be proved wrong.

[airhumberside]

Who says they would fly LHR-Delhi. They may wish to fly to smaller airports. However they will have a hard time getting peak time slots at LHR. I wish them well but using LHR will really limit their ability to expand if they do start flights. Even if they get slots for therir initial routes, what about in the future?

[nickmanl]

If an airline was to start between regional airports near areas with high ethnic diversity then then thet could possibly recieve unparralled success....just look at airports such as EMA and LTN. A service to India could be just what the region ordered!

[PAXboy]

The article (obviously based on a press release) makes no statement about destination city, only "... London Heathrow and India ..." I tend to agree with the idea that 'Regional to Regional' would work but they might take awkward hours slots at LHR. The two paragraphs that cause me to doubt their long term viability are these:-

Bance Air's long-term plan is t become an international airline with other country routes within three years, specialising in point-to-point travel, adds the chairman. It will also "look very closely" at the cargo sector.

The start-up will not be a "no-frills" airline, says Bance, and instead aims to offer in-flight entertainment that is "as good as our international competitors".

With the overcapacity on main routes, they may well succeed on some 'narrow' routes but this has to be risky. Of course, with legacy carriers heading for the end of their lives, they may hope to be ready to catch a falling star in a couple of years time. Now that would be a strategy. High risk but a fine strategy.