My First New Flight
American Airlines' Boeing 707
I can’t remember the first time I flew in an aircraft. I joke with people and tell them I may have been born in the back of an aircraft. My mother doesn’t agree with that and I will defer to her since she was there and remembers that event well. I grew up hanging out at the airport in the summer when school was out. As a kid I don’t remember turning anyone down when they asked that great question: you wanna go flying? My first airline flight was in 1967 on American Airlines. The flight was from Nashville to Los Angeles on a shiny Boeing 707 to go see cousins and Disneyland. And in those days, riding on an airline was a big event. People dressed up like they were going to church. I remember the stewardess (that was their title in those days) pinning pilot wings on my Sunday shirt. What a “wow” experience for a seven year old!
My father started flying airplanes before I was born and has the same passion today for flying that he did 55 years ago. He has imparted many things to me but the one thing that sticks most is a passion for people and this business. I hope when I have been at it for 50 plus years I can still have the passion that he has. After 28 years in the business of private aircraft services my passion picks up momentum every year. From the joy of watching someone take their first solo flight to the celebration when a businessman takes delivery of the new corporate jet – it’s all just “plane” cool.
Our industry has made the world smaller, connecting commerce and cultures in a way no other industry could. Over the last three decades, innovations in aircraft manufacturing and delivery of services have revolutionized the way people travel and the innovations are really only beginning to take hold. I believe that we were created to be in touch and in community with each other rather than to go it alone. Today’s global economy and the advent of electronic communications and social media have not diminished that basic human need – in many ways, those things have increased it. We can email, facebook, twitter and link in all day; but, at the end of that day, we still want to be face-to-face with those we care about and do business with. And now, in four hours or less, we can be anywhere in the US. In less than 24 hours, we can now be anywhere in the world face-to-face with friends, family or business associates. I can relate hundreds, if not thousands, of stories where that ease of travel has made a profound difference in people’s lives on all levels personal and business, because nothing can replace human contact; the need for it is ingrained into our DNA.
In spite of being in a recession, it has never been more of an exciting time to be in the business of aviation. There is no other business that I know of where you can meet and get to know as many interesting and successful people, work with so many dedicated and passionate people, have so much fun and get paid to do it. My wife has said, “all you do every day is hang out at the airport and talk about airplanes.” That about sums it up!
The purpose of this blog is to share the knowledge that I and the great people I work with have gained in an effort to educate and bring value to you about the world of private aircraft travel. Besides sharing what we know, we also want to learn what we don’t know by listening to the market of conversations. Additionally we’ve been working on an innovative approach to lowering the cost of private jet travel. By leveraging the power of social media we believe we can lower the cost by optimizing the use of our aircraft. Stay tuned and we’ll be demonstrating this to you, the customer. So, as they say from the flight deck, sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.
Since this is my first time at the “yoke” of social media I need to ask, how is my flying?
