Turnkey airline start-up — from business model to AOC

An AOC certifies the state the company is already in: the people, the manuals, the procedures and the aircraft all have to exist and work before the inspection arrives. The application goes in at the end, once all of that is assembled.

The stages

• the business model: segment, fleet, network, economics — before any legal steps
• the legal entity, the ownership structure, capital and premises
• the fleet: purchase or lease, importation, registration, airworthiness
• manuals and procedures: the management system, flight operations, continuing airworthiness, quality and safety
• post holders and staff: the requirements on qualification and experience are met by specific people with demonstrable experience
• maintenance: your own base or a contract with a certified organisation
• operator certification: the documentary review and the demonstration of compliance under the federal aviation regulations in force
• obtaining the approvals, entry into service, the first flights

Where it usually goes wrong

Three mistakes are typical. The first is to buy the aircraft first and think about the operator afterwards: the aircraft sits there eating money while certification runs its course. The second is formal manuals written from a template: they come back for rework, and rewriting them costs months. The third is post holders who exist on paper only: the experience requirements do get checked, and rightly so.

A realistic horizon for the launch is from several months to a year, depending on the type of operation, the fleet and how ready the team is. A promise of “six weeks” is worth treating as a signal.

The airline I ran as chief executive was built from scratch. We received the AOC right before the 2020 pandemic and were grounded almost immediately for around six months — the cushion you build in at the start is there for exactly those months. We contracted the maintenance of the fleet out to a certified organisation: holding your own maintenance approval for two aircraft makes no sense.

What we help with

• working out the economics and choosing the model before the first money is spent
• selecting and acquiring the fleet, importation and registration
• preparing manuals and procedures for the specific type of operation
• finding the post holders and the flight crew
• supporting the certification and the dealings with the aviation authorities
• starting up operations and putting the reporting in place

Frequently asked questions

Can you start with a single aircraft?

Yes, and it is often the right way to go: less capital at risk, quicker feedback on the economics. Expanding the fleet is planned once it is clear how much the aircraft actually flies in a year.

Can you fly under an existing operator's certificate while your own certification runs?

Yes: the aircraft is handed over to an airline under a management agreement and flies on that airline's certificate. The aircraft stays in the air while your own certification runs, and you get to see the operational side from the inside. Go through the terms of the agreement in advance: who pays for parking and maintenance, how the revenue from commercial flights is split, how quickly you can take the aircraft back.

What do you do if the inspection finds non-compliances?

This is a working situation. The findings are issued as a list, the company closes them and demonstrates compliance again; most often it comes down to the wording of the manuals and to a procedure on paper that differs from how people actually work. Build that time into the launch plan: the date moves by weeks or months depending on how deep the findings go.

Do you help after the launch?

Yes. The first year is the hardest: the procedures in the manuals have to be brought into line with the way the team actually works, and the decisions are now being taken on live flights.

What should you ask the team that offers to take the project to a certificate?

How many airlines they have launched and for which type of operation — the requirements for charter, aerial work and scheduled service are different. Who exactly will write the manuals, and whether that person has worked inside a live operator. What is included in the price and what will arrive as a separate invoice: finding the post holders, reworking the manuals after the findings, supporting the inspection itself. Any timeline they quote is worth asking them to break down by stage.

Alexander Filimonov — business aviation: sourcing, acquisition and entry into service of aircraft.