Cost Aviation

What Cost Aviation does

Cost Aviation GmbH is a Stuttgart-based aviation consulting firm and subsidiary of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH, headquartered at Stuttgart Airport (Flughafenstraße 32, 70629 Stuttgart). The company delivers advisory and operational improvement services to airlines, airports, ground handlers, and aviation service providers across Europe, with named engagements in Australia and Portugal. Its customer base spans Qantas, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Menzies Aviation, Swissport, AeroGround Berlin, WISAG, Groundforce Portugal, Securitas, Stölting Security, and multiple German and Czech airports (CGN, BRE, FKB, FMM, Prague).

The firm's offering is structured around eight products and services: Planning as a Service, Simulations & Calculations, Smart Resource Management, KPIs & Monitoring, Process Analysis, Project Coordination, Holistic Workforce Solutions, and the Airport Business Game training product. Underlying technical capabilities rest on the INFORM GroundStar resource optimization platform (deployed at parent Stuttgart Airport since 2003), simulation tooling, and cloud-based KPI dashboards, supplemented by partnerships with INFORM, Fraunhofer IAO (research partnership since February 2011), bruhn + partner, springshot, and GrayMatter. All consultants hold PRINCE2 certification, providing a uniform delivery standard.

The business model is predominantly project-based consulting, with emerging productization through Planning as a Service (managed recurring service) and the Airport Business Game (packaged training content). Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed; the firm operates with a small team of 10-15 consultants. Geographic scope covers Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Australia, and Portugal. Leadership is provided by Geschäftsführer (Managing Director) Andreas Schweizer.

Name

Cost Aviation

Legal name

Cost Aviation GmbH

Website

https://cost-aviation.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cost Aviation GmbH is a Stuttgart Airport-based aviation consulting subsidiary of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH, delivering resource planning, simulation, and process optimization services to airlines, airports, and ground handlers across Europe, Australia, and Portugal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for aviation industry covering strategic and operational issues. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements, retainer arrangements, and ongoing advisory services. Services include resource planning, process analysis, project coordination, and workforce solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cost Aviation GmbH provides specialized aviation consulting and operational services to airlines, airports, and ground handlers. The firm delivers outsourced resource and shift planning, demand/resource simulations, KPI monitoring, process analysis, PRINCE2-certified project coordination, and holistic workforce solutions, complemented by a haptic business simulation game (Airport Business Game) for training and change management.

Product overview

Cost Aviation offers a portfolio of aviation consulting services and products built around core expertise from Stuttgart Airport operations. The offering consists of two service types (Planning as a Service and Simulations & Calculations) and five consulting offerings (Smart Resource Management, KPIs & Monitoring, Process Analysis, Project Coordination, and Holistic Workforce Solutions), all grounded in PRINCE2-certified methodology and operational experience. Additionally, the company provides an Icebreaker/team-building product through its Airport Business Game workshop format.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning as a Service Outsourced resource and shift planning service using advanced optimization software to create optimized rosters considering peak structures, legal requirements, works council agreements, and employee preferences.
• Simulations & Calculations Individual demand and resource simulations using specialized IT tools, including customer profitability analyses, benchmark comparisons, and detailed cost calculations for personnel and equipment.
• Smart Resource Management Advisory services for optimizing existing IT solutions or implementing new ones for efficient resource management, including requirements definition, tool selection, implementation support, and potential maximization.
• KPIs & Monitoring Individual KPI monitoring solutions for data-driven decision-making, combining best practices from aviation projects with operational experience to deliver customized reporting and analysis frameworks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Measurable improvement of effectiveness, efficiency and quality
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and minor.

• Fraunhofer IAOstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2011The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is Europe's largest organization for applied research with over 80 research units and institutes. Cooperation exists since February 2011 focusing on innovative solutions in organization, virtual reality and service engineering.
• Stuttgart Airport (Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Parent organization and founding partner. Stuttgart Airport is one of Germany's major international airports, recognized for excellent performance in quality, profitability and customer service. The airport provides unique, long-term operational experience for daily business operations that COST AVIATION leverages for consulting services.
• INFORMcoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware provider offering GroundStar, a resource optimization solution specifically tailored for aviation. Stuttgart Airport was among the first airports to implement GroundStar comprehensively in 2003 and has been actively involved in its development. INFORM and COST AVIATION cooperate in consultancy including implementation support.
• bruhn + partnerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategy and management consultancy with over 20 years of experience. Originally founded as a spin-off from Basel University, combining scientific know-how with innovative problem-solving approaches. Collaboration focuses on customer satisfaction and service quality.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lufthansa Consulting: Aviation industry consultancy owned by the Lufthansa Group, offering operational and strategic advisory to airlines, airports, and aviation service providers — directly overlaps Cost Aviation's customer base and consulting focus.
• Landrum & Brown: Specialist aviation consultancy focused on airports and airspace — comparable target customers (airports, ground handlers) and operational/process advisory scope.
• Alton Aviation Consultancy: Boutique aviation advisory firm serving airlines, airports, and MRO providers with strategy and operational consulting — comparable specialist positioning and client verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Oliver Wyman: Global management consultancy with a deep aviation practice covering airlines, airports, MRO, and ground handling — competes for the same enterprise aviation clients from a much larger resource base.
• McKinsey & Company: Global top-tier strategy consultancy with an aviation practice serving major airlines and airports — competes for the same enterprise strategy and operational improvement mandates.
• Roland Berger: Germany-headquartered global strategy consultancy with a recognized aviation practice serving airlines, airports and aerospace — same home market, same client base, broader scope.
• IATA Consulting: Consulting arm of the International Air Transport Association serving airlines, airports, and regulators globally with operational, strategy and regulatory advisory — overlaps the same aviation consulting buyer base.
• Arup (Aviation): Global engineering and advisory firm with a dedicated aviation group covering airports, ground operations, and digital transformation — adjacent service lines to Cost Aviation's resource/process work.
• ICF International (Aviation): International consultancy with an aviation practice covering airline and airport operations, technology, and analytics — directly comparable consulting buyer/market overlap.
• Mott MacDonald (Aviation): Global engineering consultancy with aviation advisory and airport operations expertise — competing on airport process and planning work, particularly outside DACH.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cost-aviation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cost Aviation