Commercial air transport is an activity that requires technical, financial and security expertise. For 4 years now we have developed our Business Plan (BP) for West AF (www.flywestaf.com) focusing on a low cost carrier (LCC) in West Africa.

Fly WestAf’s Business Plan was recognized and awarded in 2016 by the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP, www.tonyelumelufoundation.org) and developed with input from world renowned experts (e.g Rothschild’s Bank, Air Finance Journal, FastJet, Aviation Investment Consultants).

Our experience allowed us to advise The Gambia in 2019 during our meeting with His Excellency, Mr. Adama Barrow for the establishment of an LCC in Banjul.

Operational Strategy

Keys to the profitability of low-cost airlines LCC:

Operational cost control, high seat/Nm margin, high- density aircraft configuration, fleet harmonization and efficient technical choice of aircraft (e.g., direct maintenance cost and fuel/seat on 60 mn Flight time / 259Nm does not exceed $39.05 with 88 pax)

The range of action corresponds to the performance of the aircraft, the layout of its cabin, the service reduced to the bare minimum on board and the application of ground and air standards, etc.

Organisationnal Strategy

Because everything is connected in LCC operations, departments are managed to ensure the lowest price against the best service.

The versatility of cabin crew tasks, the reduced payroll (index: 25 total employees per plane), highly qualified African personnel, with continuous training, a management team with risk management expertise and LCC start-up experience will be major inputs to cost management.