Conduct Market Research

The first step to establishing a flight school is ensuring that you are in the right area for a flight school.

Find out if your local area will support a flight school

In addition to researching the demographics and economic situation in your area, you may want to look at the local pilot population to get an idea of the interest and potential support that may be available from certificated pilots nearby. You can find this information by searching the public FAA databases.

• The U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics data can be used to see trends in national and state level pilot certificate issuance: https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics .
• The FAA’s Airmen Certification data can be used to explore how many pilots there are in your local area by narrowing the analysis down to city, state, or zip code for instance: https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/releasable_airmen_download

Pilots or No Pilots?

While one might think that it would be better to find a location without many certificated pilots for better market potential, remember that a significant number of pilots come from families with pilots in their background. Additionally, finding a location with a lot of initial pilot certificate holders could mean that you could tap into a market that would be interested in advanced training and certificates.

Will there be enough demand for you to start a flight school?

• Do some research to find out if there are enough people and potential interest in flight training to support your business.
• You can use a combination of free online government economic data and your own research (e.g., surveys, interviews, etc.) to help gauge the potential of your local area. Look for insight into the following areas recommended by the Small Business Administration (https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/market-research-competitive-analysis#id-free-small-business-data-and-trends)

So much to consider....

Find out the business outlook in your planned area of operation: What other schools are nearby? What kinds of services do they offer?

How many pilots are already in your area? What is the size of the population? What are their demographics (e.g., age, income, etc.)?

How much of the local market share is controlled by other flight training providers (both schools and independent CFIs)? How much can you reasonably expect to earn?

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What about your competitor' strengths and weaknesses? Be honest with your analysis

Don't forget indirect forces....

Don’t forget to consider indirect or secondary competitors that may impact your school. Are there other recreational businesses (e.g., water sports, motorcycles, etc.) that could draw away your potential customers?

Is this a good time to enter this market? Are there significant barriers that will make it costly in time and/or money to get started?

The Small Business Administration recommends using Porter’s Five Forces model to help with your competitive analysis: https://www.justice.gov/atr/diagram-porters-5-forces

It is up to you

Use this information to help determine if your proposed skill will be a viable project. Getting to know your potential competitors can help you figure out how best to improve your services or differentiate yourself in the market.

If you are interested in conducting your own market research, here are some ideas to get you started.