Lets start an airline

[TANGO100]

Since were on one of the best aviation forums here in the UK where else to get answers or thoughts from people who work in the industry

I'm starting this thread because of curiosity - how do you start an airline (money aside)

One of the quickest ways I would think, would be to lease an aircraft via a ACMI lease, would we also apply for our own AOC or use someone else's for the first year and let them do the operations?
Use your own cabin crews not flight deck so you can give the customer service you want to portray?

What about the CAA, passing the financial fitness test, does this mean you have to have enough in the bank to cover 6 months of operations etc ???

There are of course many many more questions but I thought I would start the ball rolling.....

[NazgulAir]

Didn't the BBC do a documentary "Darling, let's start an airline" about a couple starting an airline with a Dornier doing scheduled flights from Rotterdam to London City and Manchester? This documentary showed all the pitfalls they had to circumvent to secure place among the big operators.

the brand new airline's name was "Suckling Airways" and they had a customer base of people who liked the personal service they were getting.

They disppeared from Rotterdam, but googling the name revealed that they are still operating as part of LoganAir. Good to see they are still alive!

Suckling Airways (http://www.scotairways.co.uk/aboutus.asp)

[TwinAisle]

Oh lord...

Forget the aircraft. Forget the money. Forget recruiting the pretty girls to work in the cabin. Forget the logo and the name.

Find routes that will make money. Prove that. Then put 50% on the assumptions for fuel price, half your passenger numbers and see if it still works. Then build your business plan.

Call the CAA. Deposit a fair slug of money with them, to pay them to analyse your numbers. They will make them worse (ie more realistic). When they are happy, then start raising the money - good luck with that. When you have the money, build a team of professionals who know what they are doing, from operations people, to finance people, to crew, to commercial people, marketing people, HR people and IT people. Pay them all. Regularly.

Set up your airline - the easy bit. Do a test flight for the CAA. Make them smile (or at least, get them not to have kittens). Get your AOC. And your operating licence. Then go on sale.

Then the hard work starts...

[MerchantVenturer]

TA

Brilliant summary.

Should be required reading for all those aviation enthusiasts who are convinced that this or that route 'would work' from their own local airport.

[TANGO100]

Great views

Ok lets start with what you're saying - find routes.
If someone wants to prove a route, what's the best way to get the data, purchase software? pay someone in the know?
We can all analyse current airlines current routes, say the butter and bread ones like Alicante, Palma, Faro from what ever airport but its the demand for that route that's the tricky part.
So we look at the catchment area, the types of community but what else?

A good post from NazGulAir - but couldn't find an online clip of Suckling Airways - Darling, let's start an airline

[xtypeman]

TA on the button as usual. One day we should write the Manual together. Especially as we have the experience of how to and how not to start and run an airline.

Hail RT...............

[TwinAisle]

Best way to find good routes?

Local knowledge. Historical data. Paying the pros.

And then - and this is really, really, really important.

GO. AND. PROVE. THE. NUMBERS. Find justification that will stand up to the laser like analysis of the CAA. Forget "me and gran would definitely fly this route twice a year". Forget "all the guys in the pub think it's a great idea". Forget "I bet loads of people want to go to X".

Think Dragons' Den. Prove the case to the n'th degree. If you can't, don't even think of talking to the CAA. They would use your business case as loo roll.

[PPRuNe Pop]

And on that note I think we can close this thread - one of many on the same theme.