New airlines do indeed use other airlines checklists as references, however, that is always done way way before the arrival of the first aircraft. Believe it or not, regulatory agencies care very much about checklists, so don't simply blow it off. All that being said, I still raise the BS flag on this one, because you have to get all this stuff done way way way before getting aircraft. I mean, all that aircraft is going to do is sit around waiting for the SOPs and other manuals to be completed.

I will say, however, that TW mentioned Avionco, which does help start ups with its pubs, so who knows.

And if I remember correctly, he used to work for an airline here in the US?