In this series so far, we have explored how to plan your airline, obtain finance, and start putting the key elements of your airline together. But no airline will ever get off the ground without going through the process of acquiring some actual aircraft. In this fifth episode of the series, we shall explore the options open to a new startup airline when looking at how to go about equipping a new fleet to commence operations.
The importance of aircraft selection
So far, you have the bare bones of what your airline will look like, where it will fly and what kind of airline you aim to be. However, what you don’t have is an aircraft. You may have some idea on what you would like to fly your passengers on – after all, which new airline wouldn’t want to welcome their first passengers onto a gleaming new jet delivered straight from the manufacturer just days previously with just a few flight hours on the clock?
Regrettably, the airline industry is not as simple as that, and the economics of starting a successful and profitable airline preclude such decadent decision-making. Thankfully all is not lost, and there are a wide range of options available when acquiring aircraft without having to pick up the phone to one of the large manufacturers, a credit card in your hand while holding your breath in a state of nervous tension.
Before you consider the best route to follow to acquire some aircraft, you need to decide what will work best for your airline in terms of aircraft type, age, and reliability. The answers to these decisions will need to be aligned with what your budget will allow for. Given that you may have already spent millions of dollars to get this far, some tough decisions will still have to be made before your fleet takes shape.
You will need to be clear about what model will work best for your airline. When procuring new aircraft, there are various options, ranging in costs and complexity. Whatever you decide at this point may be what ultimately…
