A tequila brand to expand into the UK airline market, will it work with high fuel prices?
Posted by SweetEnuffx@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 24 comments
I stumbled across this announcement for Naked Diablo Airlines (NDA) and to put it politely, it struck me as ludicrous, but I wanted to get a wider opinion as I may be being uncharitable.
First, up after some Googling, it seems the announcement was made not at a formal press conference to industry or mainstream reporters, but while sat in a bar, filmed on a phone.
The press release Robinson speaks of seems to appear only on paid wires (EIN Presswire) and is absent from high-authority trade journals like FlightGlobal and other mainstream media business sections.
Based on official aviation records and regulatory transparency requirements, several of Robinson’s claims are factually unverifiable or contradict established industry processes. For example, Robinson states, "We've got the licensing application in", but as of late April 2026, there is no record of an application for an Operating Licence for "Naked Diablo Airlines" with the UK CAA. By law, any new airline application must be published by the CAA to allow for a 21-day public objection period. The absence of this filing with the CAA or any public licensing records suggests that no formal regulatory process has officially begun, which is in contradiction to Robinson’s statement.
Robinson has claimed they are "visiting the Boeing factory... and the Airbus Factory on actually ordering a plane and leasing a plane" but there are currently no confirmed orders or lease letters of intent (LOI) on record with Boeing or Airbus for an entity named Naked Diablo. In addition, I believe major aircraft orders are typically announced via formal joint press releases from the manufacturers, not solely through personal social media reels.
Robinson also states they already have investors secured but I can find no confirmation of that. In that regard, assuming a two aircraft operation at minimum, the resources required to launch and be taken seriously by the CAA, I estimate you would typically need to prove access to £10 million to £50 million in total startup capital. Marketing would require several more millions, an airline can’t just be advertised solely to your Instagram followers.
The founders have announced a launch for January 2027. However, obtaining an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and Operating Licence typically takes 18 to 24 months for a brand-new airline with no prior infrastructure.
Launching in January 2027 would also require airport slots to be secured months in advance. As of now, no such allocations have been reported for a "Naked Diablo" entity.
Given the lack of a public license application in April 2026 and no airport slots, a launch in just nine months (January 2027) strikes me as operationally impossible within the UK's strict regulatory framework.
Speaking of operations, there’s no record any operations staff positions being advertised for in NDA. The kind of staff required by regulation law.
And all of this announced during a time of market instability with several established airlines entering administration in recent months and UK carriers struggling with rising fuel costs and slot scarcity at major hubs like London and Manchester - the very cities NDA claims it will fly from. And neither Robinson nor Fitzpatrick has a documented history in airline management or logistics.
Speaking of Robinson, he seems to have a history of high-profile claims that have been publicly challenged. For instance, a September 2025 Deadline report contested his claims regarding Netflix producer credits, and other claims. His background appears to be sales and in more recent years, online sales.
Fitzpatrick’s credentials, like Robinson’s, seem to stem mainly from his own promotional material, not independent sources.
As I say, I don’t want to be uncharitable but my first thought to all this was, “Is this a joke?” This launch 'announcement' just doesn't seem credible at all.
SweetEnuffx@reddit (OP)
Full list of 8 airlines that have collapsed into administration with flights cancelled - published 5th May.
Why Ryanair's CEO Is Warning That European Airlines Could Go Bankrupt This Summer - published 10th May.
All the airlines cancelling flights and adding extra charges amid jet fuel crisis - published 14th May.
From the Deadline article on Marco Robinson, NDA co-founder, published 25th Sept 2025: "Robinson’s disputed claims did not stop him from parlaying his involvement in Legacy of Lies into movie-making masterclasses, which include lessons on how to secure film financing and develop a Hollywood script. This is despite a Legacy of Lies producer saying he knows “nothing about nothing” in the film business."
You can safely add the airline business to that, too.
cloudclyx@reddit
I think you can safely say that, yes.
SweetEnuffx@reddit (OP)
And another bites the dust: British airline collapses into administration with all jobs lost and flights cancelled.
Competition in private charter is even more brutal than commercial aviation, if that's their angle.
But I'm sure those NDA founders have it all figured out... /s.
cloudclyx@reddit
Making any airline profitable is notoriously difficult and the lifestyle airline model is an especially brutal financial tightrope.
Historically, almost every luxury-focused or "boutique" airline attempting it has gone bankrupt.
A trend NDA, an 'airline' without a plane, is unlikely to buck.
cloudclyx@reddit
Had a watch on this and took another look at it. That Robinson guy speaks about filming themselves visiting the Boeing factory and buying or leasing plane. Like I already said earlier, you can't lease from the manufacturer, and even if you walked into Boeing or Airbus today with a suitcase full of money, you can't just buy a commercial passenger plane. What Robinson said right there, is enough to demonstrate he doesn't have a clue what he's speaking about.
The commercial aviation market doesn't operate like a car dealership. Buying a passenger airliner involves severe production backlogs, strict regulatory vetting, and long-term manufacturing timelines. Re the Backlog, as of mid-2026, Airbus has an order backlog of nearly 9,000 aircraft, while Boeing sits on over 6,800 unfilled orders. This backlog represents roughly 10 to 12 years of total production coverage for both manufacturers. Popular narrowbody models used by start-up airlines, like the Airbus A321neo, are entirely sold out for years to come. Even if you secure a production slot, the physical process of parts procurement, assembly, and safety testing takes 24 to 36 months per aircraft.
On top of that manufacturers won't sell a commercial aircraft to just anyone with a bank account. You must pass extensive corporate background checks, anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, legal audits and prove your operational capability i.e. have a valid Air Operator Certificate (AOC), or a contracted, certified team capable of legally maintaining and operating a heavy transport aircraft. None of which Naked Diablo 'Airlines' has.
Leasing has its own hurdles and is just as difficult, not least of which is that aircraft lessors have a vetting process that requires massive upfront security deposits and highly detailed, multi-year business plans to prove the start-up won't default on the lease and leave the multi-million pound asset stranded.
Even though leasing is faster than buying, the leasing market in 2026 is experiencing unprecedented gridlock. Because Boeing and Airbus are so far behind on factory deliveries, existing airlines are aggressively renewing their leases rather than returning their planes. This has left lessors with very little inventory, driving leasing prices up and making it incredibly difficult for unknown start-ups to secure a contract.
Lessors reject plans that rely on "viral marketing" or "hype". They demand highly technical route analysis, seasonal demand modeling, and proof of interline baggage agreements. A BS pitch centered around "lifestyle, not traditional economics" is a disqualifying red flag for risk-averse aircraft financiers.
The founders would have to provide parent company guarantees or ironclad letters of credit from tier-one international banks. Their tequila brand's balance sheet would be meticulously audited to ensure it has the liquidity to backstop the airline if ticket sales collapse.
Wet or dry lease you'd need to have £50-£100 million AT LEAST to be taken seriously to play this game.
But I suspect if the NDA founders (founders? there's not even a registered company as yet!) do anything other than talk nonsense about it, they'll probably charter a couple flights as a stunt, maybe even waste some more money on a temporary wrap of their brand name on the aircraft, take plenty of footage, proclaim it a triumph and revolution in the airline industry - and then disappear again, several tens of 1000s out of pocket.
If they even have that budget to put to this ridiculous project.
routerlith@reddit
Spirit Airlines just went into administration after more than 30yrs of business. Icelandic airline PLAY went the same way earlier this week. There’s been multiple similar cases over the last few months and every day the news is full of warnings of more airlines in danger and flight cancellations due to rising fuel prices.
Yet these two barflies, with ZERO experience of airline management, want us to believe they’re coming in to shake up the industry, at this, one of the worst times in history to get into the airline business. I think they’ve been drinking too much of their own tequila.
Speaking of which, the Beckmanns – real billionaires - own Jose Cuervo, the biggest tequila brand in the world. They’ve got the money and connections to get into aviation any time they want… but they haven’t. Naked Diablo who?
Tell me you’re an idiot without telling me you’re an idiot.
SweetEnuffx@reddit (OP)
It's almost as if that Deadline post was a serious, well-researched piece of journalism, and you can't believe a word ~~Sir~~ Marco says LOL.
routerlith@reddit
I never read that piece till now. That makes it even worse, which I didn’t think possible. Total clown shoes.
kaviyo@reddit
The fact that this was announced to the world, not from a media conference in front of industry and mainstream reporters, but from a bar on a phone camera, with a press release that consists of nothing but a piece of poorly written long form sales copy distributed via a budget news wire, tells you all you need know of just how seriously to take this.
I was in the process of writing up a reply re how the last British airline startups – Ecojet and Global Airlines – fared, but after further investigation of ‘Sir’ Marco Robinson and that Deadline article, and his claims of thwarting a beautiful Russian assassin sent to kill him by Putin himself, and from his YouTube channel that he’d been a backing dancer for Michael Jackson too, I stopped wasting my time.
Suffice to say, yes, the claim to be launching a new UK airline by January 2027, even by wet or damp lease (and he mentions leasing direct from Boeing/Airbus so that’s a dry lease!), is as ridiculous as Robinson’s other claims.
cloudclyx@reddit
Boeing and Airbus don’t lease directly. Actual leasing is usually done by firms like AerCap and Air Lease Corporation.
A dry lease massively raises the bar to entry. Like I said, they’d need a UK AOC issued via the CAA, pilots, crew, training pipelines, maintenance organisation, safety systems and insurance at airline scale. By my estimate, that puts them into the £100M+ bracket of startup funds for a serious multi-year setup - at least.
If all this were happening by Jan 2027, we’d already see regulatory filings, senior aviation hires, leasing agreements announced via industry channels – but we don't.
No one should take this seriously.
SweetEnuffx@reddit (OP)
He posted on his Instagram on 20^(th) April that they’d “officially launched Naked Diablo Airlines. Not talked about it. Not “planning” it. Launched.”
Two days later he had a post up proclaiming, “we BUILT AN AIRLINE”.
Pretty good going, getting CAA license approval and all the infrastructure in place in just two days /s.
kaviyo@reddit
From my research, Robinson’s main source of income seems to be his online Startover course.
Running an airline takes up all of Richard Branson’s and Michael O'Leary’s time, and they seem to make a pretty good living from it, without the need to sell online courses (of dubious value if the Deadline article is to be believed) to supplement it.
cloudclyx@reddit
You are correct. This isn’t credible.
The process of obtaining a Type A Operating Licence (required for airlines using aircraft with 20 or more seats) from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is a multi-stage, rigorous regulatory journey that typically takes between 6 to 18 months.
The procedure is highly complex and requires demonstrating absolute compliance across multiple operational and financial pillars.
Pre-Application: A mandatory meeting with the CAA is required before an application form is even provided! The CAA will only allow a formal submission if they are satisfied the applicant is "ready to proceed".
To even hold this meeting, the CAA expects the following to be ready for discussion:
Key Personnel: The "Accountable Manager" and other key post holders (e.g., Flight Operations, Airworthiness) must attend this meeting. They must demonstrate their specific qualifications and experience to the CAA oversight team. But as you say, there's no evidence NDA have advertised for any of these positions.
Operational Readiness: The applicant must demonstrate a thorough understanding of commercial air transport regulations and provide an intended management structure. But as you point out, there's also no evidence to confirm that Robinson or Fitzpatrick possess a history in airline management
Business Substance: The company must prove its principal place of business is in the UK. Without a registered headquarters or a clear corporate presence in Companies House, an applicant fails the very first qualification criteria.
In that regard, the primary legal entity, Naked Diablo Limited, is registered under the SIC code for "Other service activities n.e.c." rather than air transport. While a new subsidiary could be formed, there is no evidence of a dedicated aviation-focused entity with the necessary capital or expert leadership required to satisfy the CAA's "Financial Fitness" requirements.
It is not possible to formally submit a valid application for a UK Operating Licence without these foundational elements. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has established a "gatekeeper" process specifically designed to filter out non-viable or speculative applications before any fee is even accepted (£18,353 is payable upon submission of a Type A Operating Licence application, capped at £80,300 if further investigate work is required, charged at £207p/h).
That’s just to get your foot in the door for the initial meeting. The application submission itself is a highly complex, lengthy, rigorous process, requiring expert industry and financial knowledge, and the input of multiple professionals. It's not like filling in a form for a driving license!
In the aviation industry, "having an application in" is a specific legal status, not a casual ambition. Given the lack of a registered company, no planes, no airport slots, no industry experts, and no record of a CAA application, it’s fair to the describe the claims made by the 'founders' as ludicrous.
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carrickshairline@reddit
This feels like an ad.
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Tldnr
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SweetEnuffx@reddit (OP)
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