👉 Background: Australia’s domestic airline market is dominated by two major companies, but three airlines. We’ve got Qantas (34.6% market share), Qantas' trusty sidekick Jetstar (29% market share), and of course, Virgin Australia (35% market share).

‍👉 What happened: Now, a new airline has announced plans to launch in Australia and rock the cabin. The name is Koala Airlines and it supposedly plans to be flying high by late next year. But their current fleet is nonexistent... like, literally just graphic design-mockup stage.

‍👉 What else: Koala Airlines is positioning itself as a more ‘strategic, disciplined alternative’ on the capital city routes. But, we know from previous challengers, the barriers to entry in the airline industry are almost insurmountable. Just ask Tiger, Bonza and Rex.

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‍What's the key learning?

‍💡In the business world, barriers to entry are the obstacles that make it difficult for new companies to enter an industry.

💡In the airline game, these barriers to entry are sky-high:

• You need massive upfront capital to lease or buy aircrafts
• You need to secure airport slots across Australia
• You need to hire trained staff and meet strict safety regulations
• Once you’ve done all of that, you need passengers who trust you to not vanish mid-air

Then, you’re up against legacy players like Qantas and Virgin who already have got very deep pockets and strong infrastructure.

💡Between Bonza and Rex in Australia, the odds are most certainly against Koala. Bonza lasted just 15 months in the skies. While Rex lasted only 3 years between announcing capital city routes… and collapsing. So, even with a cute marsupial name, Koala will need more than mock-ups and good vibes to become a real challenger.