Plane Conversations

Part 3 in a series

So, what is needed to fix the broken model and is it even possible?

So far in this series of posts I have been on the negative side, even though those who know me know that I am an eternal optimist.  I look for the sunshine; so, where is it in this business? Where are the solutions?  A good friend tells me that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel and that it doesn’t look like a train. I hope he’s right! Maybe, just maybe, it is the sunshine of innovation!  

I am a believer in a free market; however, I do know that regulation must exist to keep a level playing field. This is true more so in our industry than many other industries  because safety in aviation is paramount.  It is not reasonable to expect the consumer to know the difference in safety between operators since their knowledge of the inner workings of aviation is limited, at best. We need the FAA, but more importantly, we need the FAA to be effective in their task of keeping the industry safe and the playing field level.

We cannot operate in an unregulated free market, at least not at this point in the game. Left to our own devices, some of us will continue to do things at the best level and others will allow greed to take over and cut corners.   

If we are to have a level playing field, the government needs to get better at their job of regulating the industry by either forcing the bad actors out or forcing them to behave.

Knowledge is power and knowledge in the hands of the consumer goes a long way in leveling the playing field. It rewards those who do things right and punishes those who don’t. If you don’t believe this, then you haven’t been online to buy lately. Take a look at the eBay rating system and you realize that the market has changed. Those who do it right are rewarded. Those who don’t? They get thrown off the playing field by the consumer. When the Web 2.0 arrives to private aviation, the consumer will be more informed and will be able to make decisions based on more than just price.  

Maybe one of the answers to fixing this broken industry is knowledge in the right hands. What kind of knowledge?

How about this for starters:

• Knowledge of the safety practices and records of operators. Transparent and open for all to see.
• Knowledge about the people behind the company web site and slick brochures.
• Knowledge that would allow consumers to find the best solutions to travel outside of the supply-side controlled silos of present marketing methods of our industry.
• Knowledge that really educates the market about the solutions that our industry offers in contrast to other methods of travel.
• Knowledge that would allow travelers to place a value on their time and even place a value on their experience so when they compare travel solutions it is not just about the ticket price. Tools to value time and the experience of travel.

Knowledge! How do we get knowledge in the hands of the market so that they can decide to use our services or not? I can tell you that today, most people do not know that an air mass-transit alternative exists that they believe they can afford because we are an industry fragmented in our efforts to communicate our value!

We live in an economy where the availability of information is increasing at an exponential rate; however, information is not knowledge. So, if we want to fix this industry and make it profitable can we take all of this information we now have at the click of the mouse and turn it into market knowledge that will help the operators, the regulators and the consumers of our service to make better decisions and, ultimately, drive more value? 

These thoughts I present are obviously not the only solutions. I have not even scratched the surface of solving the problem. There is no way one person or company can fix this broken model.  

What solutions do you have?

Let’s fix this broken model together and we all win!

Click on pen to