Aviation Consultin

[shon7]

Any suggestions on how to start out in aviation consulting?

[fcit]

Sure, if you know a couple of big wheels in an airline, it`s should be no problem. Consulting is all about good contacts.. .. .Cheers. .fcit

[tinyrice]

Its also about the airline having the readies to pay for consultants. This was one of the first areas to get cut back whenever any airline got into cash trouble - like now.

[TheMagus]

What area of aviation are you planning on working in?. .. .I have been messing around as a consultant for a few years and will gladly exchange thoughts if you feel like it.. .. .As it can hardly be considered advertising to post it on this forum I take the liberty of refering to <a href="http://crewtraining.se" target="_blank">my little company's web-site</a> .

[shon7]

Thanks TheMagus. I checked out your website and it is great. I personally want to get more involved in the business aspect of aviation rather than the crew-training. I am looking mostly at streamlining-operations, labor management relations, airline mergers and integrations, hostile-takeovers, alliances, route planning, fleet rationalization, code-sharing etc.. .. . There are some aspects of this industry which I find quite hard to understand because even a layman would agree that they make no sense. For example, expanding and flying non-profit routes, just to get marketshare. Flying hals empty aircraft- because competitors are doing the same.. .. .So those are my interests and I want to get in on that aspect of consulting. Also being a pilot myself I would like to study in depth some practices and policies like the 8 hour maximum limit on work. It is absurd that they are trying to increase it and not the other way round. On some airlines, say for ex: a ORD-LHR route, although a good 7+ hours is still flown by a crew of two. This is also a red-eye route at times so it also becomes a safety issue. On that we can collaborate, since that is your field of expertise.. .. .Anyway, that's a rather long answer to your question. I thought more people would reply to the post on Aviation Consulting. Think I should post it in another section?

[tinyrice]

Best of luck with Labor / Management relations in the airline business, it might be quicker to discover the meaning of life or why the Cubbies cant play defence!

[TheMagus]

shon7. .. .I don't know to what extent my thoughts or experiences might be of use to you but I will gladly share, either here or if you would like to e-mail me (the address is in my profile).. .. .If you can show your potential customers that there is a profit or saving to be made then obviously they will be interested. In my experience, however, many aviation companies are loath to buying a service they believe they can do themselves.. .I haven't published it on the website yet but I also write manuals (operations manuals, cabin crew manuals, security manuals etc.) and have created Operations Manuals for about 25 companies in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, including the type related parts for several types from piston twins to heavy jets, and both fixed-wing and helicopter. Even though I cost about 3 times as much per hour as anyone employed by an airline I can do the job so much faster that it comes out a lot cheaper in the end. Still many companies try to do it themselves and for most it comes out more expensive than if they had hired me.. .. .My guess is that the problems you might face are that small companies probably believe that they don't need help of the kind you suggest and the larger companies have the expertise in-house.. .. .Living in a small country I can rely on my reputation to get me business. Most people in aviation in Sweden know who I am, some think I am competent and some probably think I am a moron. Of the companies that have used my services I don’t know of any that have stopped using me because of cost or because of being dissatisfied.

[shon7]

Thanks for your reply TheMagus. Here companies routinely have analysts but the difficulty lies in getting that "First Contract" or getting your foot in the door. Once you have one high profile client others will be easier to get.. .. .Anyway at the moment I am just looking to get a "foot in the door" so to speak.. .. . Thanks for your advice. We'll be in touch.. .. .On another note "Do you like Roxette" - (my only connection to Sweden).

[Genghis the Engineer]

An interesting question; like Magus I've done some consulting (thanks to a very flexible dayjob, rather than fulltime). Unlike Magus my specialism is aircraft testing and certification. . .. .If you are going to get anywhere you need... .. .(1) A largely unassailable professional reputation.. .(2) To be demonstrably very good at something.. .(3) That something should ideally be a subject which a reasonable number of companies are prepared to contract out. This essentially means that it's important that they get it right, but not a big enough activity that it's worth employing full time staff to do it.. .. .There are a lot of people making reasonable money in aerospace consulting. But, they are generally all satisfying all 3 of the above.. .. .When you're at that point then, yes word of mouth and building up a reputation become very important.. .. .G

[Boss Raptor]

contacts and reputation - neither = get nowhere...

...and dont call yourself a 'consultant'!

[ZQA297/30]

Of course the first requisite is an in-depth knowlege of the area in which you are going to consult.

In most aviation enterprises there are many experienced specialists, and you have to be able to offer more than is available in house.

Theory is well and good, but it is usually sacrificed to necessity and expediency, both of which are learned hands on.

Good luck , and luck is an important ingredient, by the way.