Requirement for Starting a Charter
#1
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2019
Posts: 6
Requirement for Starting a Charter
Hey guys,
I’m very new to the airline and pilot world. Actually I’m not really involved in it at all except for flying with a buddy of mine on a regular basis. He currently has a PPL.
I currently own and operate a decent sized landscape company in South Florida and run yachts for some locals.
I’ve been doing research on charter planes, specifically south Florida and the Caribbean. In order to operate a charter airline, I’ve read that I’d need an Air Carrier Operator license? Can I operate a single plane operation with a CPL? Or do I need an ATP in order to qualify for Air Carrier and to pilot the plane?
I’m getting a little burned out on landscaping, and I believe with my sport fishing connections and location I could build a decent charter clientele. What do you think?
I’m very new to the airline and pilot world. Actually I’m not really involved in it at all except for flying with a buddy of mine on a regular basis. He currently has a PPL.
I currently own and operate a decent sized landscape company in South Florida and run yachts for some locals.
I’ve been doing research on charter planes, specifically south Florida and the Caribbean. In order to operate a charter airline, I’ve read that I’d need an Air Carrier Operator license? Can I operate a single plane operation with a CPL? Or do I need an ATP in order to qualify for Air Carrier and to pilot the plane?
I’m getting a little burned out on landscaping, and I believe with my sport fishing connections and location I could build a decent charter clientele. What do you think?
#3
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2019
Posts: 6
If there is a better place to ask these questions please let me know.
#4
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,002
The requirements for getting into a charter operation seem simple at first blush, yet are anything but.
You'll want to hire someone to guide you through the process, if you can't find an operator certificate to buy, you'll be in for a lengthy certification process; plan on several years to set it up, and considerable expense.
You might consider working for a charter operation to get some insight into Part 135 operations, first.
You'll want to hire someone to guide you through the process, if you can't find an operator certificate to buy, you'll be in for a lengthy certification process; plan on several years to set it up, and considerable expense.
You might consider working for a charter operation to get some insight into Part 135 operations, first.
#6
Hey guys,
I’m very new to the airline and pilot world. Actually I’m not really involved in it at all except for flying with a buddy of mine on a regular basis. He currently has a PPL.
I currently own and operate a decent sized landscape company in South Florida and run yachts for some locals.
I’ve been doing research on charter planes, specifically south Florida and the Caribbean. In order to operate a charter airline, I’ve read that I’d need an Air Carrier Operator license? Can I operate a single plane operation with a CPL? Or do I need an ATP in order to qualify for Air Carrier and to pilot the plane?
I’m getting a little burned out on landscaping, and I believe with my sport fishing connections and location I could build a decent charter clientele. What do you think?
I’m very new to the airline and pilot world. Actually I’m not really involved in it at all except for flying with a buddy of mine on a regular basis. He currently has a PPL.
I currently own and operate a decent sized landscape company in South Florida and run yachts for some locals.
I’ve been doing research on charter planes, specifically south Florida and the Caribbean. In order to operate a charter airline, I’ve read that I’d need an Air Carrier Operator license? Can I operate a single plane operation with a CPL? Or do I need an ATP in order to qualify for Air Carrier and to pilot the plane?
I’m getting a little burned out on landscaping, and I believe with my sport fishing connections and location I could build a decent charter clientele. What do you think?
to have a million in aviation.... start with two.
fly for fun.
margins are even thinner than the landscaping business and with a pilot shortage here, your labor costs will be even higher than all the places that are now out of business, and they had cheap labor.
#7
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,002
What operation you can fly for, however, is another matter, and largely depends on your qualifications. Today may charter operations are a bit harder-up for pilots than the used to be. It has been fairly common in the past, especially in good economic times, to require applicants to show up with a type rating, which could limit where one might apply. Today with many kids not bothering to do anything but go to the airlines, the scene is a bit different. Hiring is nearly always preferred to those who are type rated, however.
A commercial pilot certificate is enough to fly for charter, though it depends on what the operation is flying, where, the operators insurance, the clientele, etc.
#8
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2019
Posts: 6
Yes, absolutely.
What operation you can fly for, however, is another matter, and largely depends on your qualifications. Today may charter operations are a bit harder-up for pilots than the used to be. It has been fairly common in the past, especially in good economic times, to require applicants to show up with a type rating, which could limit where one might apply. Today with many kids not bothering to do anything but go to the airlines, the scene is a bit different. Hiring is nearly always preferred to those who are type rated, however.
A commercial pilot certificate is enough to fly for charter, though it depends on what the operation is flying, where, the operators insurance, the clientele, etc.
What operation you can fly for, however, is another matter, and largely depends on your qualifications. Today may charter operations are a bit harder-up for pilots than the used to be. It has been fairly common in the past, especially in good economic times, to require applicants to show up with a type rating, which could limit where one might apply. Today with many kids not bothering to do anything but go to the airlines, the scene is a bit different. Hiring is nearly always preferred to those who are type rated, however.
A commercial pilot certificate is enough to fly for charter, though it depends on what the operation is flying, where, the operators insurance, the clientele, etc.
#9
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2019
Posts: 6
I think hundreds of guys in your position have proven the old saying true....
to have a million in aviation.... start with two.
fly for fun.
margins are even thinner than the landscaping business and with a pilot shortage here, your labor costs will be even higher than all the places that are now out of business, and they had cheap labor.
to have a million in aviation.... start with two.
fly for fun.
margins are even thinner than the landscaping business and with a pilot shortage here, your labor costs will be even higher than all the places that are now out of business, and they had cheap labor.
I'm just on a fact finding mission to see how feasible starting a charter is.
I don't plan on purchasing jets anytime soon. Just dreaming of flying clients in and out of the Bahamas in a prop plane. Can you make a living running a prop plane around South Florida on your own? Buy a decent plane I can afford on my own. Get an Air Carrier Certificate and start marketing. Build the business slowly?
How have other Air Charters gotten started? Corporate contracts?
#10
Most charter companies are started by several people with decades of industry experience. Even with that, most fail. The upfront costs are huge, the overhead is huge (insurance, training, documentation, maintenance, etc.), and the profits margin is narrow and erratic. Anyone starting a business will make mistakes especially if they are new to the industry.
Mistakes in aviation are EXPENSIVE. You cannot afford to learn these mistakes unless you are already extremely wealthy. Since you probably can't afford to learn these mistakes by making them yourself, you will need to hire others to help you. By the time you hire enough people to make up for you lack of experience/knowledge, there will be no point in you even being involved. Assuming you have money to burn and can afford to hire others to help you, you will still be a small operator. Odds are your intended market will already have larger charter companies that will drive you out of business due to economies of scale. If there aren't any charter operators in the area you want to operate out of, then that probably indicates a lack of customers that can actually afford a charter company.
The only person I know who did something similar to you was a person who sold their business and made so much that he never had to work again. He bought an airplane and started a charter company flying people to hunting sites. He got a handful of passengers a year, but operated the charter business at a loss. He was a rich person who wanted to play pilot.
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