Hans Airways

[c52]

https://www.hansairways.com/index.html

Has a professional-looking website, but flying an A330 between London/Birmingham and Paris/Milan seems rather bold.

[Fly757X]

As we’d put it in Northern Ireland... “Somebody appears to be taking the hand!”

In all seriousness, this seems a tad bold. Who knows however, too early to determine if this is serious or not I suppose.

[Alteagod]

And Toes and bumps a daisy!

[Albert Hall]

What’s on the website is a placeholder for the real plan. Worth taking this one seriously, from what little I’ve heard.

[Wickerbill]

Birmingham / London - Amritsar corridor. Done regularly by numerous airlines, but difficult to to compete with Turkmenistan on BHX - ATQ once they are back up and running.

[chinapattern]

Agreed, Air India, Turkmenistan and to a lesser extent Qatar have this market covered.

[Flying Hi]

I'll bet Dr Barry Humphreys CBE will be .surprised.
Photo nicked and croped ex 'Surrey Live'
Another Atmosphere con?

[EmDeer]

Birmingham - Amritsar? Rings a bell...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Sylhet

[TartinTon]

Looks like a kids school project. 0/10 for spelling "Initiatives" not inititives......

[OC37]

Same registered office address, same location map, as: Contact Us | Anderson Ross Accounting & Tax Ltd | London (http://www.andersonross.co.uk/contact)

[CW247]

There's always someone waiting to bleed his community of money. It's going to happen again. The rich Punjabis of Birmingham will line up as investors then watch their money turn to dust.

[nighthawk117]

It's a properly registered company, so a little more than a school project:

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/12278146

[nighthawk117]

It was previously registered to someones house... pop round and ask them for more details ;-)

[Flying Hi]

And many others.
Accomodation address.
Share capital '£1000.

[OC37]

Do you appreciate how easy and cheap it is to register a business in England & Wales?

[Flying Hi]

Oh yes. Just ask Jason Unsworth.
These Hans guys have really pushed the boat out at £1000.

[nighthawk117]

yes... but few people making a website for a college project bother with that step.

[OC37]

I bought my own website building software on Amazon some 12 years ago for a mega outlay of £19 less Nectar points, how many websites would you like? :)

[Sam112]

You need to check the CAA website before commenting if you are serious person. Jerks can say anything

[JSCL]

I don't think there's a reason to be so impolite to the good members of the forum.

But as per 21st July notice on the series 2 record which some of us check regularly;
A Operating Licence Applications

An application for a Type A Operating Licence has been made by: Hans Airways Limited 35 Beaufort Court Admiral Way London E14 9XL

B Route Licences Applications C/146 Hans Airways Limited has applied to operate charter flights between any combination of points, within the terms of the holder’s Air Operator’s Certificate.
S/146 Hans Airways Limited has applied to operate scheduled flights between any combination of points, within the terms of the holder’s Air Operator’s Certificate.

[Albert Hall]

As I said, worth taking this one seriously. The CAA will not publish the applications unless they’ve received the funds to accompany them. There are several airline people of good standing involved in this.

[Sam112]

Kindly look at UK CAA website. Disappointed with your comparison
Kindly make your checks before commenting. Not sure of your credentials

[JSCL]

I think we've all been around enough to know nothing is real until there's more skin in the game here. I could submit a Type A application tomorrow and it doesn't need much investment to make the actual application.

I'd still question anyone in their right mind investing in this style of setup right now. But they've certainly made a more definite step with the CAA than most other stuff we see here.

[macdo]

I love it, the silly season has started. All it needs is the BBC to pick up the story and those investors will be queuing up. Follow the history of Fast Jet in Africa, which had far greater claims to credibility, to see how investors dreams turned to dust.

[SWBKCB]

So we know that there is long standing demand from BHX to Amritsar that has been served indirectly by a myriad carriers over the years.

A new start up with some established industry players and links into the target market offers direct flights on modern (cheap) widebodies, and its a pipedream??

[Alteagod]

Did Richard Branson not once define a millionaire as a billionaire who tried to fund an airline? I suspect in most cases this is somewhat true.

[macdo]

Not a pipedream to set up an airline. All it needs is folk willing to dig deep into their pockets. Study FastJet, MaxJet, SilverJet and Air Wales for a demo. The question is whether it can be profitable and here I do not believe it can. The production of a non-working, grammatically error ridden web site doesn't fill me with confidence. Neither does the BOD!
Time will tell.

[OC37]

What's all this about Amritsar when this thread started off as MXP & PAR and the only route not so bookable on their website being MXP?

Just a brief irecap of BHX to MXP operators, perhaps the first was Birmingham Executive with SF340's, quite appalling load factors whilst the aircraft rudders were prone to freezing up over tha Alps, moving forward Maersk Air with BAC1-11's, obviously such a resounding success that they are no longer present, then Duo with lesser sized variants of CRJ's, they went tits up, then BA Connect with Embraer pocket rockets, BA sold them off PDQ, Flybe took the route on presumably with Q400's, they went tits up ... So how do we overcome all these past failures ... Hey, we put a wide-body Airbus on the route!

[GayFriendly]

Bit harsh! None of the 'past failures' you refer to can be blamed solely on the performance over the years of BHX-MXP route.....when operated by BE (using the E170 and E195 jets, if Q400 was used it was only occasional and because of non availability of an E Jet) it had good LF's and commanded decent fares but I do agree, planning to use a wide body on this route is utterly farcical.

[OC37]

I stand corrected :)

I travelled BHX/FCO/BHX and/or BHX/MXP/BHX on a number of occasions and Swiss, via ZRH, suited my needs perfectly even though, at the time, there were direct flights with BACON (MXP) and Jet2 (FCO).

[davidjohnson6]

Anyone had dealings with them ? Sounds quite similiar to FlyPop...

[Back at NH]

Seen this sort of fund raising with Firnas Airways who started off with widebody ambition and ended up with a Jetstream 31 before they failed to get an AOC.

Hasn’t flypop nicked their market?

[LGS6753]

Aviation Week are reporting that Hans Airways "plan for imminent launch"

[ImPlaneCrazy]

I know we are a couple days away from April 1st but.... lease for a single A332 and cabin crew training underway? Let's see.


Hans Airways - Lease Finalised & CC Training Underway (https://lnkd.in/gTPvXm7i)

[BHX5DME]

I know we are a couple days away from April 1st but.... lease for a single A332 and cabin crew training underway? Let's see.


Hans Airways - Lease Finalised & CC Training Underway (https://lnkd.in/gTPvXm7i)

it is not an April Fool !
They should be up and running in a few months once AOC is obtained then a couple of routes from BHX and possibly a second aircraft.

[virginblue]

I am trying to understand the marketing idea behind the airline's name. Could someone enlighten me as a non-native speaker what "HANS" stands for? Certainly not for the rather old-fashioned German first name of "Hans" (= John). Is it an acronym?

[SWBKCB]

I am trying to understand the marketing idea behind the airline's name. Could someone enlighten me as a non-native speaker what "HANS" stands for? Certainly not for the rather old-fashioned German first name of "Hans" (= John). Is it an acronym?

I believe it's a mythical bird from Indian culture.

[ATNotts]

it is not an April Fool !
They should be up and running in a few months once AOC is obtained then a couple of routes from BHX and possibly a second aircraft.

I think I'd be a little more comfortable if they were starting with two aircraft. A single aircraft operation is fraught with dangers; one only has to hark back (if you're as old as I am!!) to the debacle that was Highland Express.

I imagine that the other issue for Hans Airways is getting the necessary permissions to operate from India which, I seam to recall, aren't often easy to accomplish given that there is no "open skies" arrangement between UK and India, and the current politics (of India not condemning Russia for their Ukrainian adventure) could also get in the way of UK / India relations.

[virginblue]

I believe it's a mythical bird from Indian culture.

Thanks. Indeed. Apparently some kind of swan.

I guess with their target group it does not really matter that people from outside this group will be scratching their heads when hearing Hans Airways.

[SWBKCB]

Their A.330 has been crew training today

[southamptonavgeek]

Looks more like an A.O.C certification flight. Is there any record of an application having been submitted?

[ATNotts]

Looks more like an A.O.C certification flight. Is there any record of an application having been submitted?
Their website says that the AOC application was made in March 2020.

Hopefully it will be awarded imminently. Just operating permissions from India to win. That could be a bigger challenge than the AOC!

[BHX5DME]

Their website says that the AOC application was made in March 2020.

Hopefully it will be awarded imminently. Just operating permissions from India to win. That could be a bigger challenge than the AOC!
Yes the A330 went out to Oceanic entry point and then crew training at PIK and DSA. Not expecting any issues with rights etc to India.

[BHX5DME]

CAA proving flight was successful and AOC should be granted soon, traffic rights pending but looking good for a Winter timetable launch.

[ATNotts]

CAA proving flight was successful and AOC should be granted soon, traffic rights pending but looking good for a Winter timetable launch.
Well if there is a 'race' between the current clutch of would be UK - Subcontinent operators Hans are well ahead of FlyPop. Slapping a snazzy paint job on your aircraft may not have proven to be right priority, nice though the FlyPop A330 looks!

[VickersVicount]

the cabin on the route proving A330 looks ‘naff’. Even the kitchen towel disposable head rest covers don’t look inspiring. The price and huge luggage allowance better be the selling point for the ‘Indian Secondary Cities’

[ATNotts]

the cabin on the route proving A330 looks ‘naff’. Even the kitchen towel disposable head rest covers don’t look inspiring. The price and huge luggage allowance better be the selling point for the ‘Indian Secondary Cities’
I would suspect that the selling point on BHX/ATQ is going to be price, followed by price. An all singing all dancing cabin, certainly in 'cattle class' will come in a distant third.

[747Aviatior]

I believe it's a mythical bird from Indian culture.

Its a Swan, 5 tail feathers, one for each of the 5 k's of the sikh element and a crotchet music note for some music element too

[Copenhagen]

It seems from companies house that the chairman, Ruchir Verma, resigned on Friday.

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12278146/filing-histo (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12278146/filing-history)ry

That’s cant be very reassuring to the AOC committee as he was a large shareholder?

[SOPS]

Oh yes. Just ask Jason Unsworth.
These Hans guys have really pushed the boat out at £1000.


Please. Don’t bring Jason back again!

[ATNotts]

It seems from companies house that the chairman, Ruchir Verma, resigned on Friday.

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12278146/filing-histo (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12278146/filing-history)ry

That’s cant be very reassuring to the AOC committee as he was a large shareholder?
In terms of his expertise within the industry I am not sure his departure is that significant. The role of Chairman is often essentially ceremonial.

What is of far greater concern is that still no start date has been set, and no revenue is being generated. Air India meanwhile is bolstering their schedule between ATQ and BHX and the question now is has Hans Airways missed their window of opportunity.

[Copenhagen]

According to companies house, The chairman was the second largest shareholder.

[ATNotts]

According to companies house, The chairman was the second largest shareholder.
It's entirely possible that it was always the plan that he would exit the business after it reached a given point in its evolution, and of course he could keep his financial interest in the business, clearly unless any information comes from the company or the former chairman we will never know as it is not a publicly quoted company.

That said, it is probably more likely that he isn't happy with the progress of the business and had a difference of opinion with the board level decisions.

Whatever, such changes don't do anything to make the employees feel secure.

[LGS6753]

I would imagine that a shareholding in a fledgling airline amounts to a liability rather than an asset.

[MARK 101]

Hearing worrying rumours about Hans Airways.people who were offered jobs ,now being told their positions are not now being offered.
hopefully its just a glitch, but with the aircraft having sat at BHX for weeks now and no start date being announced it does seem a liitle concerning

[ATNotts]

Hearing worrying rumours about Hans Airways.people who were offered jobs ,now being told their positions are not now being offered.
hopefully its just a glitch, but with the aircraft having sat at BHX for weeks now and no start date being announced it does seem a liitle concerning
That doesn't sound good, hopefully none of those people have given up secure jobs to join Hans.

If they are going belly up it wouldn't come as a big surprise to me as Air India has already stolen a march with their soon to be 3 x weekly direct ATQ service to BHX.

[Icemanc]

Does this mean FlyPOP now have more of a chance too? ;)

[ATNotts]

Does this mean FlyPOP now have more of a chance too? ;)

Or potentially "two down, one to go", (the mob planning services out of LBA having already disappeared)

FlyPop is further back down the line than Hans Airways, and it'll only take Air India to rekindle their ATQ-STN operation for that outfit to be threatened with hitting the buffers.

[Copenhagen]

If a x3 weekly service by an obsolete flag carrier can kill a business case, it wasn’t much of a business case to start with.

[Atlantic Explorer]

If a x3 weekly service by an obsolete flag carrier can kill a business case, it wasn’t much of a business case to start with.

Indeed, I still can’t get my head around why so many people squander so much cash trying to get completely unworkable airlines off the ground!

[BHX5DME]

Watch this space on Hans - hopefully all sorted now

[BA318]

“Hans Airways today announces the successful completion of a new round of financing which will enable it to progress plans to commence scheduled air services between Birmingham and Amritsar in India - and satisfy existing financial obligations.
Hans Airways has satisfied the Civil Aviation Authority's requirements for an Air Operator’s Certificate. The secured new investment will take the airline to the next stage toward satisfying the CAA of its financial viability and subsequent operating licence to provide revenue air services.”

https://www.hansairways.com/static/media.html

[davidjohnson6]

Not a good sign for the future of Hans Airways
https://simpleflying.com/hans-airways-deregisters-airbus-a330/

[SWBKCB]

However its difficulties securing an AOC have persisted. ”Fulfilling the rightly-stringent financial criteria required by the UK [Civil Aviation Authority] to commence scheduled operations continues to hinder our launch plans,” the carrier says.

”This is despite satisfying all technical aspects of long-haul airline operations and maintaining a solvent start up business since our inception in 2019.

”In light of this we are pursuing a number of options. This includes the relinquishing of our first aircraft and stepped-up dialogue with prospective new investors and lessors. We maintain close and cordial dialogue with the CAA.”

https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/hans-airways-start-up-struggles-persist-as-aoc-delays-hit-launch-hopes/152147.article

[VickersVicount]

add it to the Swansea, FlyPop, Lydd, Manston and FlyBe2 pile. Has noone got any business sense these days? I know nothing but can spot these duds a mile off

[southamptonavgeek]

A330 ferried ex BHX today to new operator HiFly Malta.

[ATNotts]

I think everyone bar the people trying to set the company up knew how this was going to end.

[jmdavies86]

Hans Airways has officially withdrawn its application for a Type A operating licence and charter and scheduled route licence applications.

Source: https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/137258-uks-hans-airways-axes-licencing-drive (Note: Article is only available to ch-aviation PRO subscribers)

[Flying Hi]

Hans Airways has officially withdrawn its application for a Type A operating licence and charter and scheduled route licence applications.

Source: https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/137258-uks-hans-airways-axes-licencing-drive (Note: Article is only available to ch-aviation PRO subscribers)
Another Ego vanity project that sucked a lot of people in?

[BHX5DME]

Another Ego vanity project that sucked a lot of people in?
It wasnt by any means a vanity project, lots of serious players with lots of money but the cost of the AOC was the issue,

[sewushr]

The 'cost' of the AOC will rather depend on how well organised and prepared the applicant is.

If Hans couldn't afford the cost of completing the steps to obtain an AOC, then I rather doubt their finances would have been robust enough to sustain a period of long-haul operations. I rather suspect that the latter, which is assessed as part of the Operating Licence application, might have been more of a stumbling block than the finance needed to complete the AOC process.

[CabinCrewe]

speaking of which, is FlyPop officially a gonner now too?