Start Up

[renright]

Hi all,

Please feel free to direct me to the right thread as I'm not sure if this is the right one for my post but here goes:

I realize the current tight economic circumstances but I am looking for advice on starting a charter business. I am hoping someone here can point out potential pitfalls or where to get good advice to any new business starting from the ground up.

If anyone has been through the process of leasing/purchasing aircraft or indeed starting a charter company then i would be pleased to hear of their experiences both good and bad.

Thanks in advance

[SFCC]

Sorry to be the first to say it.......

If you want to make a small fortune in aviation, start off with a large one.

It can't be done. End of.

Nice idea, but trust me, you will regret each and every single minute.

Proceed at your peril.:=

[what next]

If anyone has been through the process of leasing/purchasing aircraft or indeed starting a charter company then i would be pleased to hear of their experiences both good and bad.Good: The feeling and the emotion that you get from seeing your dream come true is not comparable to anything else. The first flights on ones own AOC are unforgettable.

Bad: Everything else. Working in the office through nights and weekends while other people fly your aeroplane(s) and get paid with your money. Developing a fear of flying that gets worse every day: Not beacause you are afraid for yourself, but because the bad reception of COM1 will cost 3.000 Euros to fix, the intermittent operation of the altitude hold in excess of 10.000, the flickering light of Generator 2 looks like a 20.000 Euro bill and the latest airworthiness directive that you may find in your mail upon return will be 50.000 Euro minumum (per aircraft!) and three weeks downtime. In the end, you will see your dream fall to pieces with mixed feelings: Sadness, because it didn't last and a lot of joy that the torture is finally over. (We shut down our business after nine years when JAR-OPS came in effect and made a marginally profitable operation unprofitable.)

Most important: Find an aircraft owner first who wants to bring his aircraft into a commercial operation and only think about starting that operation then. Do not ever invest your own money and do not ever borrow money from a bank to finance any business in aviation. Otherwise you will fail terribly.

Good luck,
max

[suhoi27]

Sad, but true! Very well and sadly said! You don't need that:=

[skylimey]

Unless you've worked at another Charter Company for a couple of years you'll have to be really lucky to make it work. I did it backwards, started and folded my own charter co, then went to to work for someone else.

Then left them just before they folded, but that's another story.

M

[jackx123]

I sort of agree with the above but there are a few success stories aka. NetJets, now struggling a bit, but the growing market is asia where there is a healthy demand for the services.

As with all businesses the first starting point is to do a business plan (visit Boeing website they have one for airline start-ups). You will soon find out if the bottom line is worth it or not.

As for maintenance, if you get new aircrafts, not so expensive these days compared to a few years back, they come with warranties that take care of MOST hiccups and most biz jets are on a program these days.

my 2 cents

[Kelly Hopper]

a few success stories aka. NetJets

Hmm. The bigger they got the more money they lost. 13 years of ops and a declared loss in 12. Some success story!

[Globally Challenged]

They only survived due to the massive credit rating and benevolence of the parent company.

[No RYR for me]

Renfight, not wanting to be impolite but why do you start the company? The reasons I hear most are:
-To make money
-To build hours
-cant get a job in aviation hence want to start my own
-I can do it cheaper
-I can do it better
-other

:ok: