Opportunity
Market
The demand for air service between Western Europe, Turkey and Southeast Europe is increasing due to economic expansion and the needs of redevelopment.
The market has many components that require higher quality services than are often offered.
-
- Business travelers want speed, reliability, speed, convenience, and plans that work around their business requirements.
-
- Travelers from government and international organizations require the same elements.
-
- Personal and leisure travelers from the Southeast Europe/Turkey region who have the money to travel by air and who increasingly demand a higher level of service and convenience, but at an economical cost.
-
- The ‘#8220’ Diaspora is a collection of personal and leisure travellers originally from Southeast Europe/Turkey. However, they now reside and work in substantial numbers in Western Europe and have the same demands.
-
- Western European personal, leisure, and business travelers, who primarily travel on airline’s routes connecting Western European points.
- Seasonal (primarily summer, with some limited niche markets in the winter period) holiday travelers, primarily destined for Greece, Turkey, and the islands of the Mediterranean. Cost, reliability, convenience, and destination are their concerns.
These groups will be attracted to the proposed new airline because it offers better service and in some cases, service where none is currently offered. It also offers a higher level safety, comfort and convenience and lower fares than current options. This plan also identifies niche markets that the new airline will serve, which will allow it to be more effective in serving those markets and become the preferred carrier.
Competition
The four primary segments that make up the global airline industry, which operates between Western Europe, Southeastern Europe and Turkey, are:
-
- Established mainline European carriers (primarily Swiss International, Austrian, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Malev, Turkish) utilizing their Southeast European routes as spokes connecting to main hubs in Western Europe (or Budapest and Istanbul in the case of Malev and Turkish, respectively) and serving to feed traffic to their prime intra-European and trans-Atlantic routes (or domestic Turkish routes in the case of Turkish).
-
- Regional airlines that are smaller but more established than mainline carriers, mainly from Western Europe and the upper levels of Eastern European countries (primarily Swiss International, Tyrolean and Adria), perform the same function or link destinations in Southeast Europe with their national capitals.
-
- Southeastern European home-based carriers, such as ADA Air and Albanian Airlines, Avioimpex and Balkan Air, Hemus Air and Tarom Airways, often use older, Soviet-built aircraft and turboprops. They are less well-respected, even by travelers from Southeastern Europe. These airlines may connect to destinations within Southeast Europe or to major Western European destinations.
- The fourth segment that is worth noting is the substantial charter market that exists in specific niche or seasonal markets. This market includes charter flights between Pristina and destinations in Switzerland and Germany, as well as primarily summer charters from Southeast Europe to New York and other destinations in North America. These charters are usually operated by independent travel agencies or airlines and are often characterized by low service levels and the use of older aircraft, which are often Soviet-built. The vacation charters also operate between Western Europe and Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, or other destinations in Southeastern Europe or the Mediterranean.
The proposed airline would be most compatible with the second grouping. However, it would still compete effectively against all four main segments by offering a combination safety and service, carefully chosen routes, niche-market service and convenient schedules. It would also offer reasonable and competitive fares and modern, safe and comfortable aircraft. It will also be able to offer service on unsold routes and underserved areas where there is not much competition.
Why Us?
Air Leo fills a niche in growing air-travel markets and cargo markets to Southeastern Europe and Turkey. Air Leo will establish and maintain a high standard of professionalism and service, as well as identify and serve key routes or city pairs which are not currently served, under-served and poorly served.