A large French airline sought to merge its regional airlines into one company with a new business model. It also planned to reduce overall activity by 20% via route closures, disposals and lay-offs. We were asked to assess whether or not the project was viable by reviewing and adjusting a simplified BP and subsequently to assist the company throughout the entire restructuring process.
Modelling for an airline is complex as it is necessary to address and incorporate the following points: individually operated routes; the type of aircraft used; how many seats are available; how many trips per day; what load factor should be used; what the pricing strategy and economic environment should be; and other issues, such as how network use affects crew and maintenance costs, distribution costs, etc. The main take away of this engagement was the ‘client-surrounding strategy’, where we built a very central position within the general management team. We performed services to complete the engagement, such as the creation of a project management tool to help the new airline implement its action plan. Our added value was being able to anticipate our client’s needs and position ourselves well to support them.
