Considering Air Tour/Air Taxi Service

[Coney]

My background: I'm 33 years old. I have a BBA in marketing. I'm working on my commercial ASEL with about 285 hours. For the last 3+ years, I've been a bank loan officer Mon-Fri. Truth is I hate it. I've always planned to fly for a living--in some capacity. At this stage in the game, I'm simply on a fact-finding mission for possibilities.

So, now for my questions: I'm giving some thought to starting a small (one man) air tour/air taxi service. Has anyone had any experience in this? What are some good sources of info with which to research? If I kept it a one-man operation, how much seed money would this sort of thing generally require (i.e., a/c acquisition, insurance, real estate, etc.)? ANY useful information is welcomed! Many thanks.

 

[Swen]

I hope you can read red ink well...

That aside, if you have the opportunity or connections with some elite business folks that don't have money as an issue you may be able to keep it in the black.

 

[wheelsup]

[ QUOTE ]
So, now for my questions: I'm giving some thought to starting a small (one man) air tour/air taxi service. Has anyone had any experience in this? What are some good sources of info with which to research? If I kept it a one-man operation, how much seed money would this sort of thing generally require (i.e., a/c acquisition, insurance, real estate, etc.)? ANY useful information is welcomed! Many thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

One man 135 ops are being operated sucessfully. They're also quite a bit easier to setup than full-fledged charter departments from what I've learned about them.

There was a guy running an Aztec successfully in the midwest, his website was haneous (sp?) but he hand quite a few contracts and did well.

http://www.avweb.com/news/usedacft/184520-1.html

quote from the article:

Then, contact your local FSDO for information on how to apply for an air-taxi certificate. Be prepared for a long, hard struggle.

Maybe try that first? I have a friend who setup a charter department in a 414, I believe there's an Advisory Circular out there that outlines the process.

~wheelsup