There are some things in life you can do at the drop of a hat. But if you want to start an airline that succeeds in the airline industry, you will find that the venture demands some study time before you begin. Tips on preparing for takeoff: how to start your own airline are pretty important, too. So, to give you a leg up, we put together our seven tips in a checklist just for you.
- Study! Study! Study! As we noted above, before you even begin to launch your new business, you will want to study the commercial aviation market. Boeing produces two booklets that provide good insight from their analysis of traffic growth, industry trends, and airplane required specifications. The two booklets are Current Market Outlook and World Air Cargo Forecast. Study hard.
- Getting Your Ideas into Planning and Beyond. Starting an airline is tough. Making your airline financially sound is even harder. You must climb many steps before you reach the take-off stage. After you made your study of the aviation market, you will need to develop your business plan. To do that, you will need to identify your management team. You will want to discuss the risks and potential problems the business may face. You will need accountants to prepare professional financial statements. You will need to develop your brand and, because it takes a lot of money to run an airline, you must figure out how you will capitalize your business. You will need to provide operational details and identify the strategy you are going to use to execute your plans.
- Regulations Abound. Before you put anything into action, make sure you take the time to study the regulatory environment within which your airline will operate. Your fledgling business must comply with various government regulations, standards, and guidelines. In addition, you will want to study the world of extended operations which is a government/industry program that allows airlines to fly routes that have longer diversion time (more than 60 minutes flight time from an alternate airport). You will need to work with your regulatory agency to obtain permission for your airline to fly these extended routes.
- Pick Your Craft. Boeing has an interesting comparison tool that will show you the various ranges, interior floor plans, and aircraft characteristics for various aircraft currently in production (and those out of production, too). It’s worth taking a look before you reach the point of choosing the craft that will function as the workhorse of your airline.
- Need help creating your structural plan? Boeing’s “Startup Roadmap” graphically presents you with an idea of the many steps you must take to go from the concept stage to the launch of your new airline.
- Not sure how to position your brand? Take a look at this Brand Foundation Overview for suggestions on what you need to do about your logo, your brand, and getting customers to understand the difference between your brand and your competition.
- Looking for an outline of a typical business plan? Take a look at the Airline Business Plan Outline, including industry and target markets, competitive analysis, service offering, opportunity, marketing and distribution, and operations.
- Anxious about financing your startup airline? Take a peek at Boeing’s booklet on financing options. You can choose from bank loans to leases or mortgages amortized over 12 years. You will earn equity in your plane as you pay down the mortgage. You can get fixed interest rates or one that floats.
To talk more about this, or anything else, please contact us. We can help you connect with passengers who want to fly everywhere in the world.