Air Operations Certificate Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Air Operations Certificate - Assignment Example The fleet size shall be expanded based on future trends and growth prospects in two years from now. Consequently, there is a need to dwell upon all the requirements to obtain an Air Operator's Certificate and give a smooth start to our airline operations. Air Operations Certificate is issued by the Aviation authority of the country of registration after an operator satisfies the authority of its technical competence, professional outlook, meeting legal requirements necessitating safe aircraft operations and maintenance practices besides other criteria involving quality assurance, passenger safety and emergency requirements. The convergence of goals between an operator and the authority lie essentially in ensuring safe conduct of operations, and with due regard to national security aspects in contemporary security scenario. Essential specific criteria as per JAR-OPS-1.175 requires that an operator does not hold an AOC from another country, holds principle business interests and aircraft registrations in the country of application, and most importantly, the ability to conduct safe aircraft operations. With first three criteria already fulfilled for us, our task narrows down towards meeting the last part, i.e. to demonstrate the ability to operate our airline safely. However, with initially limited fleet size of just five aircraft for flight operations, the task is fairly achievable within the limited timeframe available to us. CAA Investigation The investigation by CAA towards grant of an AOC essentially evaluates following criteria: a. Previous Conduct. Previous conduct forms the basis for grant of AOC. We have an upper hand in this regard due to our impeccable and enviable reputation in the market. b. Previous Experience. Although we have negligible previous experience in aviation, our company's excellent reputation, our service to the nation, monetary record and good business practices are expected to help us tide over these requirements without much ado. Further, with a professional outlook and a dependable brand name, we should be able to satisfy the authorities of our competence and convictions of establishing a credible organisation which will not only meet the laid down safety requirements but also complement them in time to come through our awareness programmes and innovations. c. Equipment. With our plan to commence with a fleet of 5 aircraft, we have options of outright purchase of aircraft or borrowing an aircraft on lease. While the latter is an economical option for a new entrant, it is not very profitable in long run if the plan is to establish a major airline in due course. Further, we can go in for a wet lease (with operating crew) or a dry lease (just the aircraft). Considering our eventual plan to establish an airline in long term, it is strongly advocated that an outright purchase of aircraft from company like Boeing or Airbus be affected. Further, considering fleet size and interoperability, we should go in for same type of aircraft for the time being. However, since due to previous orders the company is not likely to be able to provide us with an aircraft immediately, a wet lease for a period of about