How To Start An Airline. Get your aviation business airborne

[Music] hello my name is ben Lovegrove and in this video i'm going to talk about starting and running an airline for some with a keen interest in aviation starting and running their own airline would be the fulfillment of a long-held dream if you're obsessed with aeroplanes what could be better than running a business that involves flying passengers and freight the satisfaction of seeing your fleet even if it's just one aircraft and knowing your company is making a profit must be immense but as we'll see starting an airline is far from easy and running an airline making a profit and maintaining momentum over several years is harder still obviously in a short video like this it won't be possible to cover all aspects in detail but we can take a very high-level view of this idea first a brief look at Airlines the word airline conjures up images of fleets of aircraft that cost tens of millions each to buy and operate and which fly into continental routes however some airlines consist of one or two small aircraft flying in country with a small team of pilots and administration staff running the show for example the Austrian based people's Vienna line once had a fleet of just two aircraft one of its routes used to be one of the world's shortest with a flight lasting just eight minutes they flew passengers from San Galan Alta Hein Airport Switzerland to Friedrichshafen Airport Germany thus saving them a seventy-seven kilometer constancy however the route has since been withdrawn and the airline has rebranded itself as simply people's this is an example of how airlines have to quickly adapt to changes in demand if they are to prosper airlines are launched for a variety of reasons someone spots a gap in the market an obvious need or just has a new idea if you've read Sir Richard Branson's autobiography you may be aware that Virgin Atlantic Airlines exists today due to an idea he had in 1984 Branson was in Puerto Rico Airport about to fly to the British Virgin Islands when the flight was cancelled so he hired an aircraft and wrote Virgin Airlines on a blackboard and then invited other delayed passengers to pay $39 for a seat to be the I it wasn't long before he had sold every seat and the idea for Virgin Atlantic Airlines was born but this is one rare example of a good idea developed by someone who had the capital and the drive to see it through now let's look at market analysis and research there is little point in starting any business without first doing the market research to do so is a gamble with the odds are stacked against you comprehensive market analysis will reveal areas that it might be possible to exploit put simply a gap in the market your market analysis should reveal the anticipated growth in passengers and freight in any given region from this you can determine what type of aircraft would be most suitable to meet the expected demand for example most of the routes from one capital city to another are full and competition is fierce however there may be opportunities from regional airports feeding the major airports or routes from one Regional Airport to another next regions and environments having worked out where there is likely to be demand your next task is to research the regulations standards and procedures for any airline in that region remember that these regulations will apply whether you fly one aircraft or 100 the aviation industry is highly regulated so being aware of all those that can affect you is essential as well as local and regional regulations you'll also need to know your own rights particularly those pertaining to the nine freedoms of the air these were formulated and agreed at the Chicago Convention in 1944 the business plan now you've identified a demand that needs to be fulfilled and you're familiar with the operating regulations in the country in question next comes your business plan this is another vital tasks that will take considerable amount of time and effort to complete however it's essential not only so that you have a plan to implement but so that you have a realistic plan that you can share with potential investors you may have seen the BBC TV programme called Dragon's Den in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of business gurus with the hope that they will be persuaded to invest in the business and mentor the business owners these attempts frequently fail because the business owners have not done their homework and cannot recall key figures from the business plan your airline's business plan should cover everything from identified opportunities to brand development from risks and obstacles to operational procedures it should conclude with an investment figure ie how much money you'll need to get this airline off the ground pun intended sourcing your aircraft with your business plan complete and the capital in the bank it's time to start implementing the plan the first task is to acquire your aircraft this is the bit you've been looking forward to there are several options for financing the aircraft and which you choose will depend largely on your business plan and capital most new airlines lease their aircraft since there is a glut with many in storage companies that own these aircraft have to pay for the storage and insurance so they are keen to lease them to operators there are several types of lease wet lease operational or financial and if you have enough investment you can buy your aircraft outright get certified in order to operate as an airline you'll need the appropriate license from the aviation authority in the country in which you intend to operate for example in the UK you'll need to obtain an air operator's certificate from the CAA this process may take several months and you cannot operate legally without it so it's a process that needs to be built into your project plan you'll also need a three-letter code from the ICAO which will be used to identify your aircraft two air traffic controllers now getting up and running so now your aircraft are on the apron you have recruited pilots to fly them and all the other staff required to run your business you have routes to fly and either passengers or cargo to carry for the first few months you'll eat into your capital as you pay all your overheads and running costs including salaries for pilots and all other staff your business plan should have given you some idea of how much money you'll need to reach each milestone but no matter how good your forecasts in aviation the chances are that you'll need more and more aircraft don't earn any money if they're on the ground however now that you're operating you can start invoicing for Freight or you'll start earning from carrying passengers your next task is to keep your aircraft flying with full cargo holds or occupied seats if it works then you can start considering expansion but don't move too fast your investors will be expecting a return on their investment and it would be a shame to ruin your businesses prospects by expanding too rapidly you'll still have a lot of running costs including maintenance and spares for aircraft salaries fees taxes and so on conclusion given the difficulties in starting an airline it's surprising just how many are launched each year in 2017 for example 79 new airlines were launched globally but 25 went out of business aviation is a constantly evolving industry and there will be more caps in the market to exploit by those watching and ready to move in action when they appear a new small airline due to launch in 2019 is Furness Airways the idea and development of this airline was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary in 2018 it plans to operate a charter service based at Oxford Kidlington Airport using a bae jetstream 31 which has 19 seats so 2019 may be the year we see a new airline operating out of the UK thanks for watching if you found anything of interest in this video then please subscribe to my channel by clicking the red subscribe button 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Channel: Ben Lovegrove

Views: 45,572

Rating: 4.930676 out of 5

Keywords: aviation, aircraft, drones, UAV, ben lovegrove, redspan solutions, redspan, aviation news, how to start an airline, how to run an airline company, BAE Jetstream 31, Firnas Airways, ICAO, CAA, Air Operators Certificate, how to start an airline channel 4, how to start an airline in the us, how to start an airline from scratch, how to start an airlines company, aviation business, how to launch an airline, how to build an airline, how to start an airline in the uk

Id: ZHL9IjYSGpI

Length: 10min 8sec (608 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 25 2019