To incorporate an Airline...
 

Hello guys,

Due to the recent conditions regarding the bankruptcy of SkyEurope and the flagging of many other airlines as well, I would be interested to hear your opinions regarding the incorporation of a new airline. The main idea is to float a business (model), which will be profitable, at least at any time - not like SkyEurope did ;)

Would you incorporate a low-cost carrier or an airline flying only with C- and maybe F-class inventory like EOS or SilverJet did or would you focus on the private jet segment?

In which country would you set up the main hub? Europe, Asia, Africa,...? Which country has the best potential for growth?

What would be your business plan?

Would you focus on business travellers or leisure travellers?

Well, there are definitely more questions you could take into account, but the outcome should be to incorporate the most profitable airline in the world...

regards,
flo

The most profitable airline in the world?

That would be the answer that the computer gave in War Games The only way to win is to not play the game.:rolleyes:

As Carol Beer used to say: "Computer says 'Nooo' … (hustet)" :D:D:D

I would say the only untapped market is intercontinental LCC travel.

Think a Ryanair or EasyJet clone operating all-economy, no-frills travel across the Atlantic or Pacific, serving secondary "cheaper" airports on both sides of the ponds.

Some of this already exists with charter carriers, but not regularly scheduled flights.

Oasis tried and failed on LGW-HKG.

However, Air Asia X is currently going on STN-KUL.

Let's hope it stays that way.

Oasis also tried and failed YVR (my home town) <==> HKG. However, they were offering "legacy carrier" service at LCC prices. That was doomed to fail.

I'm talking about a Ryanair-esque service but intercontinental. I suspect that's the next thing we'll see, and to the best of my knowledge, no one has tried that yet.

An airline startup is something that I wouldn't wish on my worst of enemies.

Or, as the current joke making the rounds goes: Q. "How does one become a millionaire in the airline industry"? A. "Start with working capital of $3 million." This has to be the worst of times to start a carrier, irrespective of business plan.

Isn't US Airways an international LCC? :)

The only way is with government backing. Maybe to be cheap one could pull a bunch of DC-8s from the desert and run them from NY to Europe, sell all seats for $199 each way, and have a great rewards program so every three roundtrips = one free trip. Chances are great that it wouldn't be around long enough to have to pay out any free trips.

I'm pretty sure that the man who gave his name to the Freddie awards would have disagreed with you. May he rest in peace.

The problem is that what people do, what would work, and what succeeds are all three completely separate things.

AS for what would work for a LCC long distance airline, the most logical model would be flying old, large planes that carry huge numbers of people, offer basic services and features, and fly only a few key markets but tied in with a lcc connection system. Team up with a Southwest or DirectAir, etc. and fly only from one hub city in the US to one or two key European cities, where people can then hop on Ryanair to their destination.

I think the airline itself, though, wouldn't be an airline but a charter, and tickets sold by the online companies like Expedia and Orbitz, etc.

Personally, I think the option with the most potential however is premium economy. A combination of JetBlue and the old style Midwest, where you have better seating and better service, but not over the top amenities which really don't draw in passengers. You need a lot of focus cities and not one out of the way hub. And keep the planes reasonably small.

Plus KUL-AUH and a bunch of medium-to-longhaul destinations in Australia and China. I suspect they just might be able to pull this off...

I've recently had a morbid fascination with an airline hopeful called Family Airlines:

http://crankyflier.com/category/airl...mily-airlines/

Their plan is to fly old non-glass 747s domestically, crammed full of seats and advertising. They are trying to get DOT approval but they have a number of problems, including a business plan that simple arithmetic shows doesn't work at the fares they want to charge and a CEO who has spent time in prison for securities fraud. It's entertaining to watch it unfold, if seeing airline startups never get off the ground is your idea of fun :)

I always heard a different version:

Q: What's the fastest way to become a millionaire?
A: Be a billionaire and start an airline.

Seriously, if you add up all the profits and losses of every airline since the first flight, it's negative. I have friends who started or were involved in starting failed airlines (skybus, eos). You always have high hopes that you somehow have a different model, but it rarely works in the end.