Southern Airways Application

Hi there,

I am writing because I was looking at alliances and yours truly piqued my interest – you have some really interesting airlines in some great locations. I understand you're not looking for other members right now, but I thought it'd be interesting to start a dialogue and see whether my airline is a good match for Infinity and vice-versa. Therefore, I'm sending this application with some information on my airline mostly for reference, and for us to start a dialogue.

-- WHO I AM

My name is Eduardo. 28 years old, Brazilian, born and raised in Brazil but not living there anymore (currently in the U.S.). I studied aeronautical engineering for my bachelors, and just finished an MBA and an MA in International studies.

I haven't played AS for long; I started in April '11, on Nicosia, where I created Southern Airways Brazil. The airline was moderately successful and was growing at a moderate pace. I started neglecting it over the past month or so, as I was traveling and was looking forward to the introduction of a new game world where I could have the same playing conditions as everybody else (kind of tough to start 2 years after everybody else…). So it's definitely hurting now. I plan to just leave it there and see what happens.

-- MY CURRENT AIRLINE

Southern Airways Brazil (Stapleton) is, as of this week, the largest airline in Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU, the biggest airport in Brazil) in terms of both cargo and passengers. It is the 3rd largest airline in market value according to ASIX20 (it was the biggest until yesterday, but stocks went down during the weekly dividend sharing), and have been making healthy profits.

Our fleet consists of 8 A-320 and 1 DH8. We plan to maintain an almost-all Airbus fleet, with a few exceptions for very small airports or places with short runways. At this point, we use these planes to fly to most big cities in Brazil to and a few South American capitals. Our strongpoint is in the mid-haul flights (avoiding too many flights to other big airports, such as Rio or Brasilia, was a strategic decision to increase early-game profitability).

We have a few interlining contracts with airlines based in some of our destinations (As well as other airlines based in GRU), but none of them are long-term commitments.

-- AIRLINE MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

. Have a realistic fleet: avoid flying only small planes, or use a 60-seat turboprop on a 3-hour flight; Avoid having too many different aircraft types on the fleet
. High service standards: good onboard service; not offer super crappy seats (currently using Economy / Business Standard on all planes)
. 2 classes on all planes; haven't gotten to the point where first class in necessary, but don't think I'll opt for it

-- AIRLINE GOAL AND STRATEGY

Goal: Be the largest player in South America, with hubs in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Panama (the last 3 countries are open for foreign investment), offering international flights from all main hubs to major cities in all continents and to all major hubs of the alliance.

Short-term strategy: Keep very high profitability. To achieve this, we started the airline offering the more profitable mid-haul flights in less competitive routes, with low focus on short flights to other very important hubs (too many competition in these routes drives prices down). Provide access to these airports through interlining with carriers with a more regional focus.

Mid-term strategy: Development of the Sao Paulo hub as the main connection point in South America. Further development of new mid-haul destinations, but start focusing on shorter routes which are important to feed passengers. Start flying to international destinations in South America, as well as to other alliance hubs (if Infinity, JFK, LIS and MAD might be the first ones).

Long-term strategy: Development of other hubs outside Brazil (Bogotá, Buenos Aires Ezeiza, Panamá Tocumen); Development of other hubs in Brazil (Recife, Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont for regional flights, Manaus)

-- WHAT I EXPECT FROM AN ALLIANCE

. People with somewhat similar ideas in terms of how they plan to manage their airlines. I wouldn't be proud of being in an alliance with airlines running old planes, crappy service etc.
. Space to grow my own airline. I would expect to be the only player in Brazil and, if my strategy ends up working well, I would love to be the only player in South America (though I understand this may be a bit much to ask). On the other hand, I would not like to be in an almost impersonal alliance with 30 members, where airlines come and go all the time, or in one where I share South America with another 5 airlines.
. Room for me to learn about how AS alliances work, as I have never been part of one.

-- WHAT I CAN GIVE TO AN ALLIANCE

. A good starting position in South America — and a fast growing one. Potential to start interacting with other members in 4-5 weeks, when I expect to have flights to other hubs (JFK, LIS, MAD)
. Real world experience: academic background + working in management consulting
. Commitment: happy to undertake responsibility roles within the alliance (though I don't know much about it yet)

- MY QUESTIONS TO INFINITY

. What is Infinity's strategy? What is the plan for growth?
. Are there guidelines on final number of members?
. Will there be more formal guidelines for which types of airlines will be accepted in the future?

Let me know if you're interested in further chatting. As I said, I completely understand that you're not recruiting at this time, so I'm happy to chat further and use the next few weeks to assess whether we're right for each other. I don't plan on starting my intercontinental expansion in the next 4-5 weeks anyway, so there's definitely time for that.

Best,
Eduardo
emsamuel on Airlinesim

Hi Eduardo,

Thanks for your interest in our alliance and also for the detailed information you have provided. We are actually at the stage now where we are looking for new members, so you application has come at a good time.

From reading your application it does seems that we can provide what you expect of an alliance and also your airline appears to be a good fit to the type of company (and potential companies) we are looking for.

So to answer your questions then,

Infinity's strategy is simple really. We want to provide the best global coverage possible. However we are not the type of alliance that has a huge number of members, we have always preferred to keep the group fairly small and exclusive as it allows for better communication and cooperation. So our plan for growth will involve ensuring we have good coverage of the major markets such as USA, EU, China etc (we realise were missing a few of the others at the moment) before filling in gaps in open market countries. We dont set a limit on the number of members but we wont have any more than maybe 3 or 4 in the really large markets such as the USA and the EU. Basically if an airline doesnt bring anything to the alliance we dont already have we wont accept it. If your application was successful then you would be the only Brazilian airline and being the only South American member could be a possibilty if you are able to provide enough coverage. Its too early to say really. Certainly there is potential here as there is huge demand between South America and Portugal and Spain (where we happen to have members).

Anyway our members will begin to discuss your application, if you are interested in proceeding.

In the meantime our members may have some questions for you and if you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Regards, Infinity Members

Hi chrisb37 et al,

Thanks for the quick reply to my questions. I'm definitely interested in proceeding with the application process -- let those questions roll in!

Best,
Eduardo

Hi Eduardo,

As it turns out your application was so detailed, we didnt really have any additional questions for you!

The members have voted unanimously in favour of your application and you will be pleased to know we have accepted you directly as a full member.

Please feel free to look around and start your own thread in the member news section. You can also apply to join ingame now as well.

Best Regards

Infinity Members

Seja bem vindo Eduardo

Thanks a lot for your support, guys (Eurico, muito obrigado!)! I'm excited about becoming a part of the community and will send a join request on AS right away.

Best,
Eduardo