Guidelines for setting up a budget carrier?, what I need to set up a budget carrier?

Question

I wish to set up a budget carrier in my home country Nigeria given that there is a huge potential for this kind of services. I need advise on on how to go about it. what i need to do as well as how to finance the project.

Answer 1

Buy some pigeons or steal them from the town cent re and they ll fly around the world for bird seed !!! and a very good profit !!!

Answer 2

Seriously.  First you need about half a billion dollars.  Then you need a room full of aviation consultants.  They will tell you how to set things up.  The money is for bribing officials, hiring personnel, and making the down payments on aircraft leases.

It should be fun.  Go for it.

Answer 3

Investors.. You will need Millions of dollars.. everything else is easy..

Answer 4

You have a serious hurdle to overcome before you can do anything. Your home country.

I am in commercial aircraft leasing, and I don't know of anyone willing to finance the purchase or lease an aircraft to a country where:

A) there is very little skilled labor to maintain the aircraft

B) there is very little possibility of recovering the asset (the aircraft)

I perform aircraft repossessions, and I can tell you from experience, there are few people willing to go into your country to get the aircraft.

So, as you can see, even if you had the financial backing required, it's doubtful, that with the way the government works there, that any legitimate banking agency would be willing to place an asset there.

I'm not trying to insult you in any way, I'm just trying to help you see the problem you face right out of the gate.

Assuming you have cleared those obstacles, then you have to assemble a team of people that can manage the fllight crews, maintenance, purchasing, payroll, insurance, and legal departments. People with these qualifications aren't cheap.

That is the very least. I have also performed airline start-ups in the US on the technical side. Each consultant you hire will their own area of expertise. Again, you will need these people to get everything in motion, and again, they aren't cheap.

Since I am strictly technical, I'll try to give you some insight on what is needed on that side of the house.

1) Aircraft tooling (engine removal equipment, tow bars, nitrogen carts, jacks, etc)

2) Maintenance stands

3) Ground equipment (tugs, trolleys, cargo loaders, air stairs, man lifts, lav service carts, etc.)

4) General Maintenance Manual (GMM)

5) Training courses

6) Uniforms

7) Ground support vehicles (vans, trucks, etc)

8) Avionics test equipment

This is just a short list.

It's not easy, and it's not cheap, even if they'll lease you an aircraft.

Good luck.