Plane Conversations

Technology is encroaching on every aspect of our lives and aviation is no exception.  But, technology is only as strong as the weakest link in the value chain.  In aviation, however, the weakest link also happens to be the smartest and most numerous link.

Technological advances in commercial aviation increase airline margins, but technological advances in public information technology decrease airline margins. 

The airlines use data technologies to pack routes tighter in order to maximize their profitability.  On the other hand, the Online Travel Agent (OTA) use data technologies to drive prices downward. Lower prices minimize airline profitability – this forces more packing of airplanes.

This leaves the traveler holding the red tape with the elimination of routes, erosion of service, crowded flights, and the emergence of added fees, etc.  What happens when the traveler “link” snaps?

When the weakest link breaks, new ones form. From Seth Godin

The magic of our new form of communication is that it’s no longer one-way. If you consume an app, you can write one. If you can read a blog, you can publish one. If you can grab an ebook, you can produce one.

The center has nothing to do with geography any longer. The center is a state of mind.

Aikido Air Service 

Aikido is a martial art which uses the principle of non-resistance, moving with the direction of the opponent’s force and redirecting the attack until it is no longer a threat.  Likewise, markets flow in the direction of information.  Wherever there is an “information conflict”, the opening of new information channels can redirect the market to new innovation instead of continued conflict.

The same NextGen technology also makes it easier for smaller airports to have efficient air traffic control, this will reduce the cost of point-to-point travel. The same OTA technology can effectively list smaller aircraft flying point to point as well as ground transportation and hospitality.

The weakest link also happens to a “state of mind”

The next generation online travel agent may publish all aircraft data and ground transportation in a comparable pricing structure so that information can flow in new directions.    The technology of the weakest link simply turns them into strengths by using the opposing forces against themselves.

Social media technology is becoming the dominant marketing tool for on ground events and services and Social Flights is leading that charge. These technologies will change the calculus that the airlines and operators use to optimize aircraft.  That is how the circle will be reversed.

Next Generation Air Traffic Management represents a major evolution in ground based air traffic control to satellite based air traffic management; it also represents an opportunity for private aviation to deliver far more value to the communities that they serve.

In order to accomplish this, Social Flights is developing a unifying business method that accurately and reliably matches supply and demand for private transportation assets across several thousand airports in the United States. NextGen, combined with the Internet and social media, gives the private aviation industry a set of tools that were unimaginable 20 or 30 years ago when the private aviation market last shifted.

How will private travel evolve?

NextGen will use aviation-specific applications for existing, widely-used technologies such as GPS, Weather Forecasting, data networking, and digital communication. Not surprisingly, these applications will lead to new procedures and airport infrastructure.

Some of these changes may be quite predictable

To get an idea as to how these new technologies will impact aviation, it may be a simple matter to compare how these EXACT same technologies have changed social cooperation in general.  This prediction is valid because we all cooperate for our little piece of the sky.

Society has learned to cooperate in amazing ways as mobile devices, VOIP, GPS, Weather Reports, Traffic Reports, and non-corporate social organization become evermore commonplace.  New business models constantly form around the technology.   The result has been a profound shift in power and influence to those (for better or for worse) who can access and curate relevant information AND then share that information with people in their networks (and beyond).

Social Flights is taking the lead and calling on all private operators to join with us to build a common platform for private aircraft inventory and ground operations across the United States:   

• Where are your jets stationed?
• What inventory do you have available?
• Where are your empty legs going?
• Are you willing to share facilities or “code-share” with other operators?
• Are you willing to cooperate with the major airlines?
• If entrepreneurs in your community had access to the whole system, would this help you?
• If corporations and event planners had access to the whole system, would this help you?
• Are local hospitality and support services sharing information with you?

The New Technology Advantage

Since the late 1800’s America has replaced every single telephone pole with a new one every 50 years or so.  Today, every less developed country can simply build relatively few cellular towers and avoid that mess. For this reason, we can assume that airlines no longer have the advantage of vast hub infrastructure when together, we can just as easily sort people and planes with access to the right data shared across the right network.

Air Travel in and out of New York City Area is among the most complex in the world.  4100 flights per day squeak out of 3 major airports while all three rank near the bottom of 29 hubs for on-time performance.  Many people say that the Next Generation satellite air traffic control will alleviate the problem by allowing aircraft to fly closer together in crowded areas.  Others say that multiple modes of transportation such as high-speed rail would ease congestion.

Social Flights says, “Why fly someplace that you are not going?”

I grew up in Connecticut and have come to know New York as a magnificent city with huge importance in business, government, art, and culture. The cost of traveling into New York can often exceed the price of airfare outbound and almost always takes longer than the flight itself.  Commuting into the city from Connecticut can cost 100 dollars including parking, commuter train, and meals – and it can take 3 hours each way.  Commuters often spend more time traveling than working.  The cost of living in the city is exorbitant.

Look at the numbers

At around 200-250 persons per aircraft, 4100 flights represents between 750,000 and 1 million people per day.  The population of Manhattan is only 1.5 Million.  A significant percentage of people are actually traveling to, or from, Connecticut, or New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, and beyond.

In fact, there are 23 airports in the New York Metropolitan Area that can accept turbine aircraft.  At market capacity for each of these airports, the Social Flights Community Air Services Program could relieve the majors by 25-30% of their traffic while opening up air transportation to the millions of people who live outside of major cities and would otherwise not travel.

• Central Jersey Regional Airport (JVI)
• Essex County Airport (CDW)
• Greenwood Lake Airport (4N1)
• Hackettstown Airport (N05)
• Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR)
• Lincoln Park Airport (N07)
• Linden Airport (LDJ)
• Little Ferry Seaplane Base (2N7)
• Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP)
• Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU)
• Newton Airport (New Jersey) (3N5)
• Old Bridge Airport (3N6)
• Princeton Airport (39N)
• Republic Airport (FRG)
• Solberg-Hunterdon Airport (N51)
• Somerset Airport (SMQ)
• Stewart International Airport (SWF)
• Teterboro Airport (TEB)
• Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN)
• Trenton-Robbinsville Airport (N87)
• Tweed New Haven Regional Airport (HVN)
• Twin Pine Airport (N75)
• Westchester County Airport (HPN)

Now, Let’s reintroduce those great ideas

Next Generation satellite air traffic control will alleviate the problem by allowing aircraft to fly closer together in crowded areas, but it also brings improved ATC to smaller airports at relatively low cost.  Multimode transportation like high-speed trains has a distinct advantage of being able to stop along a route.  For example; high-speed rail from Washington DC to Boston could carry passengers between airports not unlike trams carry passengers between terminals.  New mobile and big data applications can sort people and planes as effectively as hub infrastructure.

Social Flight knows where you are coming from

If you live in Connecticut, New Jersey, or upstate New York, you should be able to fly from your local airport to anywhere in the country. The Social Flights Community Air Service Program brings public charter air service to your doorstep and the doorstep that you are traveling to.