Plane Conversations

I’m not a big fan of jargon, although I’m sure I speak aviation jargon all day long without realizing it.  So, I guess what I really mean is: I’m not a fan of jargon that I don’t understand.  It agitates me and leaves me anxious that I’m going to miss some crucial grain of information, simply because I misunderstood the meaning of a word – because I thought that “cloud computing” had something to do with weather predictions.

At the end of last summer, several of us sat down in the conference room to discuss social media and how our use of it might transform our industry, our company and us.  By now, most Americans know what social media is and maybe most people knew then.  Maybe I was the clueless one.  I struggled to keep up in the meeting simply because I didn’t understand the terminology.  It all sounded like Jabberwocky to me.  I recognized the words as being English, but I had no idea what to do with them.  I’m still no pro at social media jargon, largely because it changes faster than I can keep up; however, I’m better at it now than I was then.  I have learned to translate the jargon into words that are comfortable for me.  I can boil the strange, new concepts down into conceptual language that I can relate to.

When I was at an industry conference in San Antonio, a session speaker used our company as an example of one that is diving headfirst into the technology and communication culture.  I mistook the presentation date and missed it, to my great embarrassment, but I heard that it was fantastic and that we were reflected in a complimentary way.  As I chatted with people during the conference, I got a lot of, “I’ve heard I should do this, but I’m still not sure how”  or “They said I should do these things, but I don’t know why.”  After nearly eight months of blogging, tweeting, posting, disseminating, commenting, editing, photographing and god knows what else, some days I’m still not sure the How but I’m figuring out the Why.

When I first shifted from operations into outside sales, I met lots of blank stares when I told people who I was and who I worked for.  They’d never heard of us, in spite of our size and our history.  It was a disheartening struggle.  I went door-to-door, talking about who we are and what we do.  I was making progress, but in a global scheme, it could be measured in microsteps.  At the end of the day, you’re not going to see an ad for our company or most other aviation companies in the Wall Street Journal.  We don’t buy ads during Wimbledon.  And we don’t have an agreement with a mainline airline.  But, we’re good at what we do.  Social media has given all of us a way to share our questions, our beliefs and our ideas with the world.

You’re good at what you do.  You’re more than a set of wings and a block purchase program.  You have ideas of your own and beliefs on how to make your company and our industry better.  This is your way to share it.  You don’t have to rely on a canned message from somebody else.  You can say it for yourself.  All you have to do is learn the language.

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In our ongoing discussions about how to reduce the costs of flying private aircraft by putting together a way to share a ride I posted a blog titled “Would Business Travelers Share?”

We believe that people would be willing to share a private jet flight with others provided it left at a mutually agreed on time both coming and going.

So if you can answer the when question (when we all want to go) what about the who (who will I share a ride with) question?  

Who you would share the flight with?

Would you share a flight with your competitor? Probably not. You would not want to have your competitor in close quarters for two hours listening to your discussions about today’s meeting or presentation.

If you are on a business trip would you share the flight with a group of college kids going to spring break and ready to party?

When you ride on the airlines you don’t have much choice who you sit next to. You may get lucky enough to sit next to Kevin Smith and share his space? Or a bratty kid who keeps kicking you and you can’t kick back?

If you were sharing a ride on a private jet charter flight it would be very easy to know in advance who was sitting next to you. With all of the social media profiling surely you could just go take a look at your seat mates Facebook page or LinkedIn profile and figure out if they might be OK to share the flight with. It would seem that knowing who you are riding with could be very easy to determine and even control.  

You never know, the person you share the flight with may end up being your next friend, client, partner, collaborator…..

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On January 25, Dan Robles suggested that Social Currency might be used to fight terrorism. Some of our friends on Linkedin joined the conversation. 

Greg Johnson, President, CEO and founder of OneSky Jets, says:

“I think there are a few interesting points of discussion in Dan’s latest post. The first relates to where we catch terrorists… Trying to stop them at the airport checkpoint is an effort in futility. Terrorists are a determined lot and as Dan states, they only have to succeed once. The answer lies in knowing more about everyone who elects to fly as personally invasive as that may sound.

The U.S. and other countries are already starting to collect more data from passengers…birthdate and place of birth in addition to name, even on domestic flights. There has been an ongoing debate about a federal ID card although my opinion is that an additional card would be redundant. The databases exist today to to give law enforcement a pretty decent ability to profile passengers and I only see that capability expanding.

The typical terrorist’s desire to keep a low profile works against them when they are attempting to blend in to an increasingly data-driven society. The absence of data or abnormal patterns will stand out.

I don’t believe that “social currency” on its own is enough. There are billions of peaceful people on the planet that are not actively engaged in social networking today. The fact that my Mother isn’t on Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace shouldn’t (on its own) subject her to an additional level of security screening, however a college student today without an online presence might throw a red flag or two.

Also, don’t think that law enforcement isn’t already leveraging social networks. I have an associate who has been involved in government facial recognition projects. When the government needed a database of names and photos to test this new technology, where do you think they went? The publicly available pages of Facebook!

So the net/net here in my opinion is that the publicly available data in social networks can and will be used by governments of the world as one facet in a multi-dimensional campaign to know who is flying before they get anywhere near the airport and in the big picture, that’s a good thing.”

Mike Osborne, Operations AME at Honeywell, shares this concern:

“How do you propose to ascertain their networks and claims? Either or both seem easy enough to falsify.”

My reply is:

“I believe that the idea is to go for a “preponderance of evidence.” Just as the lack of a credit report, utility bills or bank records casts doubt on the authenticity of an identity, the lack of social credit and social activity history casts doubt on the social interaction and perhaps even identity of the passenger. Certainly, just as false credit reports, etc. can be created to support an alias, false social backgrounds could be created to support it as well. I think the point that Dan Robles is making is that to create monetary history and social history that coincide is difficult and would make it more difficult for terrorists to support several believeable aliases.”

Kenneth J. Goldstein, President at KJG International Consulting, responds:

“No as left to their own devices, most would not provide a sufficient background to grant the rest of us security.”

What do you think?

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Aviation supports a role in society that is analogous to the Internet itself. While the hard work gets done at the points on the ground, Aviation provides the diversity of ideas that can congregate.

Sure, Twitter, Facebook, and Linked in are great for broadcasting across the globe, but nothing can happen until the rubber meets the tarmac. Emerging trends in the Last Mile of Social Media portend opportunities for Private Aviation.

The following video describes how the components of the next economic paradigm must act locally, but share globally. For anyone wondering what to do next or where the great opportunities are, think about building out the Last mile of Social Media.

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There are 77 million of them and, according to an online article on Barron’s website, Baby Boomers are being ignored by marketers.  What’s more, they are being ignored when they are the group who has driven 45% of all consumer spending for the last 60 years.  In the next few years, it is estimated that the number will grow to 52%.

So who are the marketers going after?  They favor the 18- to 49-year-olds, as they are the age group who are forming opinions, forming families, and are making major purchases like homes, cars, etc.  However, they are not the age group with their wallets out ready to spend.  Look at most advertising done today; it is aimed at the younger, hip crowd, in spite of the fact that over half of spending comes from the 45 to 63 year olds.   And this trend is expected to continue for the next 20 years, Barron’s says.

So what about the traveler?  Do we, in the aviation industry, target the Baby Boomers or Gen Xers?  Do we even know?

Travel Marketing Decisions interviewed a series of experts to gather insight into this enormous and potentially lucrative segment.  Below are some truths about Baby Boomers and the marketing implications for the travel industry.

1. Boomers consider travel a necessity, not a luxury. This is good news for the industry on two counts. First, the sheer number of boomers traveling will cause business to grow. Second, since travel is a necessity, Boomers engage in it no matter how scarce their time or money. Their travel behavior, therefore, is less dependent on life stage or the economy.

2. Boomers have traveled more than their predecessors. While their parents first visited Europe when they retired, Boomers criss-crossed the Continent as students.  They’re already seasoned travelers, and know what they like and don’t like.  They also seek out more in-depth ways of experiencing familiar places. 

3. Boomers want to have fun.  It’s not surprising that adult teenagers put a premium on having a good time. Although fun, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, Courtney Day, of a New Jersey research and marketing firm, said companionship, stimulation and the cultural/social experience make travel fun for Boomers. She added, “Part of the enjoyment of the experience is knowing it’s unique - that’s part of the rush.”

4. Boomers demand immediate gratification. Unlike their Depression-era parents, Boomers grew up in times of plenty. Easy gratification bred a desire for still more and quicker rewards. As a result, Boomers don’t wait to take the trips they want.  If they don’t have the money, they just use plastic.

5. Boomers are not passive. They want a measure of control in designing their travel experience, and, once on the road, they want to choose their activities. “If you tell them they’re going to do A, B and C, they might want to do E or F,” noted editor Malott. The challenge for travel marketers is to make it clear their product offers plenty of options.

6. Boomers think they are special. Having always been a force to be reckoned with, they are very demanding consumers.  Whether they go budget or luxury, Boomers tend to want the best.

7. Boomers like creature comforts. This fact, according to Malott, actually keeps Boomers from booking the exotic locales they profess to like. Day puts a slightly different spin on the issue. “A tent is OK,” she said, “but it better have a great view and great food. Even if you’re in the wilderness, luxury is being served a delicious meal without having to lift a finger.”

8. Boomers are time deprived. To get relief from their stressful schedules, Boomers vacation where they can do absolutely nothing but be pampered. Or they may go to the opposite extreme, choosing adventures that are physically or mentally challenging – or both.  When booking travel, Boomers also need time-saving devices.  They like 800 numbers, the Internet, videos and virtual reality because they offer convenience and interactivity.  Internet use is so common among Mature Traveler readers, editor Malott automatically lists website addresses along with phone numbers. Day pointed out that Boomers use the Internet more for information gathering than booking. “It’s human nature to want to feel connected to what you’re about to sign up for,” she said. However, she added, Boomers also like the freedom of not involving other people when they are exploring a subject. Their attitude is, “When I’ve decided, I’ll initiate the next move.”

9. Boomers will pay for luxury, expertise and convenience. ATM fees, nannies and bottled water prove Boomers are willing to pay for what they want.

Seems to me Baby Boomers are the perfect customer for the private aviation industry.  So how do we reach them?  We should concentrate on adding value to the process of buying experiences.  So…a Citation XLS or a Lear 45?

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I recently had the opportunity to be part of an interview with Fleet Aviation executives Doug Brennan (CEO) and Ellen Sluder (Director of Marketing) about how, in a murky aviation market, they are successfully growing their aircraft charter business.

The business model behind this White Plains, New York, based company is simply offering complete travel solutions to the customer that is price competitive, safe, comfortable, convenient and environmentally friendly.  It’s what all of the aviation industry wish to do.  These guys have a solid history of success since 2005 and are offering a better solution to the business traveler.

So who is Fleet Aviation?  And what is their secret?  Well, it’s not really a secret at all.  Fleet Aviation provides on-demand charter service in small aircraft anywhere within 500 miles of the Greater New York City and Boston areas.   At Plane Conversations, from time to time we like to compare the different experience of riding on a corporate or private jet, with the experience of travelling on the airlines.  It’s our business, and we love to share with the market what a wonderful experience flying private is.  Well, the small aircraft offers the same experience.  Being a student pilot and flying in a two-seat Cessna 152 with less than desirable elbow room, I can fully appreciate the comfort level of flying in a four or six seat aircraft; whether it has one engine or two.  And these aircraft are not only comfortable and modern, but they are also fun, safe, and can get into any of the 5000 small airports in the US.  Only 500 are available to the airlines.  So it’s easy to figure out the time and cost advantage of chartering a single-engine aircraft. 

But what is the experience like?  Ellen Sluder says, “The experience of flying Fleet starts well before you arrive at the airport for your trip. You can either reserve online or call our concierge service. Once you have confirmed, you get a personalized itinerary that includes the name and phone number of your pilot. Should there be any concerns or questions, you can always call us or the pilot directly.  When it is time for the trip, you can drive right out onto the tarmac and your car will be valet parked and washed for your return. You step out of your car, hand your pilot your bags, climb right into the plane and can be taxiing in 5 minutes. Skip the crowds, lines and connections associated with major airlines. And, because you are flying private, we are completely on your schedule – if you arrive a few minutes late, we simply wait for you.”

Fleet Aviation keeps a clear business focus on regional travelers and aiming to attract a new market -those who might not have ever thought about aircraft charter.

Face to face is important for Fleet Aviation, but the social media trend has clearly started to penetrate the aviation industry.  “I fully believe that Social Media should be about getting feedback and creating a discussion.  ”Engaging” in the truest sense of the word”,Ellen says. ”Ultimately, I’d love to get to the point where I’m generating hundreds of hits and interactions – driving people to our website and getting actionable feedback.  But for now, the focus is really twofold: to provide fodder for folks who are doing due-diligence on Fleet Aviation, and use it as a tool for education.  We want to challenge the conventional thinking on regional travel. I read upwards of 30 blogs a day, and sift through to find topics I think would resonate and be relevant to regional travelers and then put the private aviation spin on it. Sometimes it’s about highlighting destinations that are best reached through private flying, sometimes it’s commentary on the current system”. 

To visit the great folks at Fleet Aviation, go to:  www.flyfleet.com

“With Fleet, it’s smooth, simple and straightforward, from booking to landing.”

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(Author’s note: The following is meant to engage new ideas rather than promote any specific scheme or ideology)

Given the events of the last few months weeks, it’s time to for the aviation industry to get serious with Social Media. This article demonstrates how an alternate currency can be used to severely reduce or eliminate terrorist risk in commercial aviation. Think I’m kidding, read on.

Obviously an airline will not let you board an airplane if you don’t have the financial currency sufficient to buy ticket. Why should an airline let you board an airplane if you do not have social currency sufficient to fulfill your social obligations while in the air?

People with extreme social currency deficiencies are routinely stripped of their rights by a jury of peers and isolated from society for a period of time (where they would not board an airplane anyway). While there are many systems in place to manage the various degrees of social currency deficiency, none appear to be able to identify a terrorist without also violating the rights of non-terrorists.

Human Writes

However, many people are willing to share information about themselves to associates with whom an economic benefit is shared or exchanged. This happens a billion times per week on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter – why not among fellow passengers? After all everyone is already connected by six degrees.

What would a terrorist’s Facebook profile say about them? Do they have a lot of referrals on Linkedin? Do they post great work on Flikr? Is their community orchestra featured on My Space? Are their posts popular on twitter?

Should a social currency credit score become imperative to social transactions as the financial credit score is for financial transactions?

Banks and Insurance companies already rely on a highly invasive “Credit Score” to establish financial risk profile as a means of protecting themselves and their other clients. Why wouldn’t an airline use a social credit score to establish a social risk profile as a means of protecting themselves and the lives of their other clients?

Ruse and lose

Sure, the bad guys can adapt to social media as they have adapted to all other measures. The problem is that the greater the size and scope of their social media ruse, the more difficult it is to maintain the ruse. A threshold score could be set to nearly eliminate this possibility. Those folks can then simply opt into the full body scan.

The Paradigm Shift

As the saying goes, the attacker needs to be successful only once, while the defender needs to be successful every time. The concept of a Social media credit score flips this paradigm on it’s head. The attacker’s social credit score needs to be successful every time. The defender needs to be successful only once.

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With a new year ahead, it seems a majority of us are reflecting on the past year, and perhaps deciding to make some changes in our lives.  Whether the change involves exercising more, quitting a bad habit, or something more life changing, like starting a family or new job, one thing is certain, change can be daunting, and downright scary for some.  What does this have to do with my learning to fly, you ask?

My last blog was about waiting - having patience.  I was not able to fly because of poor weather conditions, my aircraft being in maintenance, and my plans to spent three wonderful weeks on vacation in my homeland of Australia.  This blog is about CHANGE - quite fitting considering it’s the beginning of a new year, and I’m already making some changes in my personal life.  What’s one more, right?

So, the Cessna 152 went down for maintenance – an engine overhaul to be exact.  This left me without an aircraft to fly.  So the questions I have to answer are: do I wait the possible weeks it takes for engine overhaul, or do I change aircraft?  I have the option to change from the Cessna 152 to a Diamond Katana (DA20).  The aircraft are quite different – one high-winged, the other low-winged.  One has a yoke, the other a stick.  The different cockpit, and overall feel of the airplane.  Honestly, I was really disappointed that I was unable to solo in the 152 before I left for my vacation in Australia; but, I’m now quite excited at the prospect of switching aircraft.  Flying a different airplane altogether will be a great challenge.  I’ve never really been afraid of change; so (no surprise), I’m making the chage and I’m really excited about it.

However, this means I will have to learn a new Pilot Operating Handbook, DA20 aircraft speeds, instrument panel, how to land with a completely different view of the runway.  One thing won’t change:I will still have to rub elbows with Kirk.  It’s a tiny trainer!

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident, it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.  So, to those reading this blog, I encourage you to embrace change in your life.  Because one thing is certain, change is inevitable.

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Part 4 in a Series on Social Media and Business Aviation: Written In Collaboration with Jay Deragon

Over the past few weeks I have posted several articles on social media – the new method of communicating to the market. I am an admitted novice in the world of social media and technology, but my eyes are starting to open to the possibilities created when social technology and business aviation collide.

We have discussed the opportunity social media presents to fight the war the airlines have declared on general aviation by getting our message out in an unfiltered way.  We have also discussed social media as a means to increase our visibility to the market as well as to communicate with that market in order to innovate and better meet its needs on its own terms. All of these are game changing strategies.

So now I want to ask some what ifs!

What if there was a social grid or network built for the purpose of becoming the e-marketplace for private and business aviation travel solutions? What if this social network allowed, encouraged and facilitated the market to come together to aggregate a demand that is currently outside of the supply that  traditional channels of distribution make available to the market?

What if the market could then go to the suppliers of private aviation and request trips or routes of travel where individual travelers could buy seats, filling the aircraft, driving the price down?  Maybe the price would still not be as low as mass transit airline travel, but still would be much lower than today’s pricing of private aircraft flights.

What if travelers could input their travel profiles into the social grid in such a way as to speak to the entire market and to form affinities around common travel patterns? Would travelers be willing to share their travel  information with the market in a profile, sharing where they go, when and how often? Would travelers talk to each other about their travel needs if those conversations led to more new, innovative and efficient travel solutions than have ever existed before?

What if all air charter providers and small scheduled airlines (niche airlines) could input supply into the grid, including empty legs?  What if on-demand charters were quoted instantly so that the market had real time visibility to the solutions they need? What if all of these suppliers could participate on a level playing field and in a system that costs the users only when a transaction takes place?

What if the other parts of the business travel supply chain were able to participate as well? Would the hotels, resorts, rental car and limousine services have an interest in participating in the grid?

What if private aviation operators could collaborate to create a bigger market?  What if we woke up someday and realized that we’ve been monopolized by technology controlled by some organization that isn’t even in our business? What if we all created a new collective “social grid” in which the general market of travelers realized they could use our system rather than the old commercial system?

What if we could collectively reinvent ourselves as an industry with the aim of serving the larger market? What would be required? Who would agree to collaborate? Who would agree that if we don’t, someone else will?  And we’ll all lose when we should have been leading all along?

If we could simply start to build a dialog around all of these questions what could we do? Should we do it? If not, then let’s not even try to answer these questions.  Let’s keep doing what we’ve been doing. Einstein once said “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”  What happens if we all decide to be sane?

If you think we need to do something else then join me and invite others to join us in creating a new future where we can all win.

Who will jump into the dialog? Who will invite others to do so as well? Is there anyone out there?

Where are the answers to all of these “what ifs”? Could they be out there in the market of conversations that could create the new system that creates the answers?

The answers are out there in the minds of people wanting to create a new future. Are you one of them?

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The last two weeks, I’ve been tested.  Tested in what it takes to be a pilot.  Not so much on the “determination” side of things, or the ability to think quickly, having a certain amount of co-ordination, or willingness to study.  No, I am being tested on patience! 

I haven’t flown since before Thanksgiving; so, I’m feeling less “Top Gun” and more “Wagon Train.”  Instead of screaming (okay, buzzing) around the skies, I’m just sitting, watching, waiting.  I guess it comes down to what I have written in a previous blog about weather affecting my ability to fly.  But this time, there are other factors involved.  My Cessna 152 has been in maintenance for its annual inspection.  My instructor, Kirk, has been on vacation during Thanksgiving break (c’mon!), and the dismal weather meant that the cloud ceiling for even pattern work was too low.  So if you’re thinking of learning to fly, be aware that there will probably be a number of factors that may contribute to a dry spell at some point during your training. 

So, what will I talk about, since I haven’t flown in a couple of weeks?  How about what I’ve done so far and what I have yet to accomplish? For those following my journey, here is a comprehensive list of what’s involved, what is in progress, and what is coming!  (And this will even give you some idea of future blogs!)

Whoa….I just realized I still have a long way to go!  But doesn’t that all sound like such fun?  If you are reading this blog, have wanted to fly, and are thinking more seriously about it, I suggest you take to the sky for an introductory flight.  A great website to visit is http://www.pilotjourney.com/.  They will provide you with all of the information needed to get you started, provide you with a free Learn to Fly Kit, can help you buy an introductory flight lesson, and can hook you up with a flight school anywhere in the country.  There are also all sorts of other cool links, and information available on their website.  I recommend that you take the plunge and do it.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say they want to learn to fly, but they never take the first step.  I say, “jump!”  (If you’re in TN go to www.wingsmqy.com and www.jwnwings.com)

So, I know I’ve said it before, my solo IS coming soon.  I’ve been studying like a crazy woman, and that’s the part of this process that is testing my perseverance.  You see, I’m crammer by nature, but I can definitely NOT cram for getting my pilots license.  And as of right now, I think I am ready to take my pre-solo written exam.  Once that is out of the way…look out world, I’ll be taking my first solo flight!  Stay posted!  No really, stay posted….the weather will get better. I promise!

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