Plane Conversations

Maybe this most recent economic crisis wasn’t Armageddon, but I think I saw a Guernsey or two fall somewhere over central Mississippi.

The technology and practices of our industrial world are changing at a mind-boggling pace.  Since we started blogging just over a year ago, the advancements have been staggering, allowing us to begin developing a “wouldn’t-it-be-cool-if” idea into a “isn’t-it-be-incredible-that” reality.  However, if we had kept believing that we already knew it all, we would still be sitting on the porch, whittling, rocking in our chairs and wishing for a brighter reality. 

This Big Idea is a gamble, to be sure; Big Ideas always are.  But, to take our industry into its next great phase, we must accept that, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” We must reject bad managerial habits that keep us trapped in a paradigm which ceased to be profitable years ago.  Aircraft operators are frustrated by rising fuel prices, rising training costs, rising salary and benefits costs.  Equipment is getting older.  Remaining competitive means newer equipment, higher standards and better practices.  Meanwhile, many charter brokers insist on lower pricing, sometimes to the point of incorrectly educating the end-user on the actual cost of operating aircraft to the highest standards.  Sadly, even some operators have been willing to operate below cost just to produce the cash flow.  Reputable operators know what it costs to run a quality operation.  Reputable brokers also know this and are willing to support the operators’ reasonable pricing structures to their own clients.  But I digress.  My point is this: charter operators are frustrated with rates which are not keeping pace with rising costs.  Even with this frustration, we hamstring ourselves by acting conservatively out of fear of making mistakes and by avoiding anything new until it’s better understood.  Neither habit is bad altogether, but the over-application of either of them can be deadly. 

As I discussed the Big Idea with a few operators this week, I was discouraged at the response of many of them.  If the Idea is flawed, I would expect rejection and would hope that someone would point out the fatal flaw; but, that’s not why it was rejected.  Their rejection of the Idea stemmed from “I’ve never thought of that” and “We’ve never done it that way before,” not from the Idea’s merits or demerits.  It’s one thing for an industry to suffer or fail due to catastrophic and unforeseen market changes, but that isn’t the case here.  The market has been changing for at least the last 10 years.  As operators and brokers began aggressively selling one-way trips, introducing our product to a wider audience, the market has been changing.  As the global economy was reeling, our market changed further with more aggressive pricing, air taxi services, and ride sharing.  I often here people lamenting the loss of the “good old days.”  Let’s face it: the good old days weren’t all that great either.  We still struggled.  We still worked on narrow margins.  I don’t think we worked any less hard, but maybe we worked a little less creatively.

While we’ve gotten more creative, it’s time for us to make a big creative leap now.  Sharing flights is a creative way to broaden our market.  Using social technology to share those flights is a creative way to work smarter.  It’s the next Big Idea.

So, yes, 150 years ago, everybody knew man couldn’t fly.  70 years ago, everybody knew that supersonic flight was deadly.  And 15 minutes ago, you knew that shared flights would never work.   Once we accept that we don’t know our market as well as we think we do, we allow ourselves to adapt our industry to the new marketplace.  When we use social innovations like Social Flights to tap into that new marketplace, we broaden our reach.

If we can learn all of that today, embrace the Big Idea of flying socially, imagine what we’ll know tomorrow.

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My son came home from school one day with a classroom story I found disturbing.  It was at the beginning of the school year and the teacher asked each student to introduce themselves and to tell what their career goals were.  One student stated that he wanted to be a famous rap artist.  The teacher’s advice to the student was to pick another career, he’d never make it in that one.

I’m sure that there were plenty of people who gave the same advice to Marshall Mathers and Curtis Jackson; but, apparently neither Eminem nor 50 Cent took notice of the naysayers. 

Several months ago, I read a blog entitled Misfit Entrepreneurs that really stuck with me.  In the blog, Dan Pallotta wonders how Bruce Springsteen could communicate his aspirations to his father, “How does he tell his father, ‘I’m going to be Bruce Springsteen?’ “  How does any true visionary communicate their vision to the rest of us?  How can they explain their dream to expand or alter a current reality?  How can they define what we can’t even imagine?

At the moment, my son wants to be a stand-up comedian.  He’s pretty hilarious; so, this may be a good fit for him.  I remind him that the path is difficult and that the price, in terms of work, will be high.  However, if Jerry Seinfeld can do it, I don’t see why my son wouldn’t be able to – provided he’s willing to do the work.  Those are the real keys, aren’t they?  We must be able to envision the goal and we must be willing to do the work.

In the charter side of Business and General Aviation, we often talk about the problems in our industry.  Operators all over the country have shut down.  Those of us still flying struggle with ever-thinner margins.  Customers want more stringent standards; but, they often want to pay less for them.  The market is unwilling to pay price increases that keep pace with cost increases.  How can we continue to operate under these circumstances?  We operate smarter.

But, we can’t operate smarter until we change the way we view ourselves and our product.  We have to envision ourselves as Bruce Springsteen before we can actually translate the vision to reality.  We have to stop seeing our industry only for what it is and, instead, see it for what it can be.  What if we can increase fleet utilization without substantially increasing costs?  What if we can increase our margins simply be changing our customer base?  What if we could increase our customer base by tenfold?

What if I told you that we can?  What if I told you that the vision was becoming reality right on the horizon?  Would you be willing to envision it?  Would you be willing to work on it with us? 

We can do it.  After all, Bruce Springsteen exists.

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Today marks the one year anniversary of this site we call Plane Conversations. When we started we knew what we wanted to accomplish but did not have an idea of where the hard work would take us in the first year.

This post is the 338^th by the writers, 14 in number, who have contributed. The page views according to the stats number about 45,000 in the first year. I can’t tell you whether that is good or bad. I like numbers, but quality seems to outweigh quantity for me after the first year in the world of social media.  

I am grateful to everyone who has contributed for their perspectives and stories about aviation. It would have gotten pretty dull had it just been me.   

About the same time we launched this site, we also made a strategic decision to use tools of Social Media to communicate to our market, our peers and those we hope to do business with. Today we have active Facebook friends numbering 1360, with several Facebook pages covering the different areas of our businesses. We also actively communicate through Twitter, as well as distributing our blog content through numerous other sites and social media applications. All of this has helped us reach and meet new people across the globe.  

At the outset we hoped to reach the audience of travelers who need Business Aviation but just haven’t realized it yet.

I believe in looking at our readers in the first year that we have communicated more to our own, those of us already in the business of aviation.

That’s OK though, because what this site has brought us are new relationships with people in business and general aviation around the world. Chances are we would have never met most of you any other way and that makes the effort worth it.

Who knows where the beginnings of these new found relationships will lead, but my hope is that we will mutually prosper. Maybe the shared knowledge will help us all in some way even if it is small. Many people have taken the time to read these posts and the hope is that the time was not wasted.

What are the lessons learned so far? 

• If you want to launch a blog site and contribute regularly be prepared for a serious time investment. It is much harder than I thought it would be.  
• You think you know what people are interested in but you really don’t know until you put it out there.
• Moving forward I want to spend more time thinking about what to write and put more effort into the quality of the posts and worry less about the quantity of posts.
• The more perspectives and stories we get from different people the better. After all this is a conversation, and conversations are best when there are more people participating.

Over the past year I have seen Business Aviation start to wakeup to the power of using social media and its technologies to communicate our message. Each week I become aware of new people on Twitter and Facebook. The ability to move the conversation to the positive in our industry has been tremendous. For the most part I believe we have silenced or at least neutralized the mainstream media bias against our industry; the bias that we were an industry for the rich and famous only.

I have seen the technology of social media develop so fast that no one can keep up with all of the changes happening. As Facebook and Skype come together in an integration of their communication services over 700 million people will be using the two together. That is a staggering number and it will grow.

Is there an opportunity to reach this audience with the message of our industry and what it can do for people’s time and lifestyle? There has to be, so maybe the best is yet to come.  

Thanks to all of you have taken time out of your busy lives to read a post or two.

Thanks to the writers, and especially Jon Anne and Rachel who have not only written, but contributed by editing and proofing the rest of us, as well as distributing the posts out to all of the other sites and applications. Your tireless efforts have made this happen. It has been a true team effort.

A big thanks to Benet, Rob, Clint, Paula and other friends who have promoted our message and site in a social way. We have learned much from you and will continue to listen and learn. 

I look forward to this next year and what it will bring to those of us in Business Aviation who have weathered the storm of the past two years. Never before have we had the opportunity to tell our message like we do now. It will be great to see the impact that “Social Media”  has on Business Aviation.

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In a September 2 post I discussed Congressman Oberstar’s statement that possibly we should consider re-regulating the airline industry. His opinion is that the mergers happening between major carriers are bad for the consumer and will leave them with fewer choices, higher prices and less service.

I am opposed to regulation of the airlines in matters of customer service and free market competition. With the exception of matters of safety, I believe the government should step aside and let the market work things out. The government does not have a good track record meddling in matters of the free market.  

A September 5 blog by William Swelbar at www.swelblog.com has been posted that intelligently puts the facts out and further convinces me of the government’s need to get out of the way. The blog title, “Dear Chairman Oberstar: What Do You Mean This Is Not What You Voted For?” sets the tone of this post.

If you are interested in this issue Swelbar’s post is a well written argument on the history and merits of the deregulation of the airline industry that happened in 1978. Jump over to his site and take a read .

Even though business aviation and general aviation compete with the airlines for some portion of the travel market it is still good for the economy and the aviation industry as a whole to have a free market system of profitable and competitive airlines to keep our economy moving.

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I haven’t written a blog in some time, and that really goes to show I’ve been busily trying to finish up my private pilot.  A few weeks ago I was studying fanatically for my written test.  Not being one who likes to “have my head in the books” (I learn better by doing), I pushed myself to put in the time to study. It paid off, because I easily passed, which was a huge relief to me.  It seemed at the time just before the test that it would be the biggest step in my path to becoming a pilot.  (I understand that would not be the case for everyone, but for me, takings tests is nerve-wrecking and makes me entirely anxious.)  But now that it’s done, I realize it wasn’t the hardest step. 

Now I’m of the opinion that my solo cross country is going to be the big one.  But wait a minute!  Wasn’t my first solo supposed to be the big one?  What I’m getting at here is that I’ve discovered that the path of becoming a pilot has challenges the entire journey – once I got over the hump of my solo, I then had the written test hump.  Now that I’ve done the written test, I’ve got the solo cross-country.  So, I can now see that once I’ve done the solo-cross country, it will then be the check ride and oral that will likely give me a few sleepless nights.  And after that, well, after that I have my license to get out there and REALLY learn how to fly!  I just need to relax and enjoy the feeling of achieving my goals.

So in a few weeks, I’m hoping to be ready for my check ride.  This is what’s left:

              
DUAL NIGHT X-COUNTRY      
          
LOCAL SOLO TIME 4 HOURS 
                  
SOLO 50 MILE X-COUNTRY 
                
SOLO 2 STOP 150 MILE TOTAL X-COUNTRY

CHECK RIDE PREP 3 HOURS

Am I still anxious about any of this?  Yeah, but my past accomplishments help me every day.   There really is no better feeling than that of accomplishment.  It is a motivator and a confidence builder, and with the highs and lows of learning to fly, it is as satisfying as clear blue skies.

 One more noteworthy comment:  having a great instructor helps.  Kirk has been invaluable in my progress.  He has pushed me when I’ve needed to be pushed, been patient when I’ve stumbled on the radio, praised me when I’ve done a great landing, and slapped my hand when I’ve taxied too fast!  Thanks Kirk.  I promise to slow down for my check ride!

www.wingsmqy.com

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward. “ Amelia Earhart

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Tom Belden, a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, in a July 12 article, argues that the country’s airlines should be considered a “public good” and thus be subjected to regulation by the federal government for issues concerning customer service and pricing policies.

MIT Research Engineer and Aviation Consultant Bill Swelbar, in his blog post responding to that article, states that the airline industry is not a “public good.”

Quoting from Swelbar’s blog post:

“The airline industry does not fit the economist definition of a “public good”.  But they do bring a lot of good to publics of all sizes.  More taxes, fees and regulation will only ensure that communities will suffer a death by a thousand paper cuts because increased airline costs have to eventually mean fewer airports served.”

Both of these positions deserve consideration, and it is worth your time to read their stated positions. I will lean heavily to the side of Bill Swelbar on this issue.

All of us would agree that regulating safety and security in the aviation industry is good for both the industry and the traveling public. However, when it comes to regulating customer service, the federal government has gone too far.

I understand a “public good” definition when it comes to the electricity flowing to my house because I don’t have a choice about which electric company to use. I don’t see how that applies to airlines when the consumers do have a choice.

The consumer can choose which airline they fly with, or they can choose to not fly the airlines at all.

This country is fortunate to have one of the most developed road systems in the world and most of us can get in our automobiles and safely and quickly go anywhere in the country. In the densely populated areas of the country the developed rail systems provide an additional mass transit alternative to air travel. All these are options for travel if we don’t want to fly on a bad airline.

Social technology has provided an excellent vetting system for rewarding and punishing companies based on the markets perception of their service. Feedback is now instantaneous. Look at how social media savvy airlines like JetBlue use twitter to respond to customer service issues.

By having a choice, and allowing the free market to work it out, the good actors will be rewarded and the bad actors will be punished.

The free market will drive better airline customer service, and more efficient solutions to travel, not the government.

Last but not least, business and private aviation offers the choice for us to fly on our own schedule directly to the destination.  With over 5,000 airports to choose from, the travelers get ten times more destination choices than they get with the airlines

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Thanks to Forbes.com and Managing Editor Carl Lavin for giving business and private aviation a voice on their site.

Two weeks ago, Forbes.com started a new blog site called Wheels Up  to give a forum for conversations to those of us in the business of business aviation and to private aviators as well.

I was fortunate to be asked to contribute posts along with others including Plane Conversations and CFMCharter friends Clint White , Susan Friedenberg and new friends Jeffrey Reich,  and Jeremy R.C. Cox.

Other contributors so far include passionate private aviators Pierre de Fermor, Michelle C. Torres-Grant, and Carl Lavin weighing in from Forbes.com perspective.

This is great for our industry to get the opportunity to share our stories and engage in conversations with the Forbes readers about the value proposition of business and private aviation. Maybe we will no longer be the best kept secret?

The social media conscious people in our industry need to support Forbes efforts by promoting this new site with Tweets, Facebook and Linked In sharing of the posts, and most importantly, by engaging in the conversation through comments on the site. As we generate traffic and interest, and bring the conversation to the traveling public, we will all benefit.

From looking at the site daily it appears that we are getting some good traction and this is just the beginning.

Happy Fathers Day to all of you who are Dads. Being a father is the most important job we have! 

Have a great rest of the weekend.

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My father is a forester.  At one time, his chief role in his company was to evaluate a stand of timber and negotiate with the landowner for the rights to that timber.  Those kinds of deals weren’t made by men in suits in conference rooms or over the phone.  They were made by men in dusty boots on the front porch over a cup of coffee.  Contracts were agreed upon with a handshake before pen was ever put to paper.  There was a protocol for making those deals and, if you rushed it, you lost it. 

The landowner might not have all the latest facts, figures and price indexes for whatever hardwood he was trying to sell, but he wanted a fair price for his resource.  To be sure that he was getting the best price and was being treated fairly, he had to know who he was dealing with.  He might have known a guy who knew a guy, but, even then, he wanted to make the judgement for himself.  And he made that judgement sitting on the front porch drinking a cup of coffee with the potential buyer.

I don’t have land with timber on it.  To be honest, I don’t have a front porch to speak of, either.  But when I’m spending money, I want to know who I’m spending it with and I don’t think I’m unusual.  As a front porch for consumers and vendors alike, Social Media helps me do that.  I tell people regularly to check our commercial site to see what we do; but, to see who we are, check this blog, our Facebook pages and our Tweets.  You’ll see the issues that are important to us – aviation industry issues and advances, marketing and human resources articles, environmental issues and hockey.  (Hey, I’m a fan and since I post many of our updates, well…..)

We can’t shake hands and or make eye contact over a blog, a tweet or a status update; however, with continued exchanges, we can get to know one another.  As a customer, we can watch how vendors treat other customers.  We can see the rate and the quality of interaction.  As a vendor, we can see customers’ interests and viability.  If either party is presenting counterfeit social currency, they won’t be able to hide it for long.

Sure, we can teleconference, video conference, read brochures and websites; however, those things tell us only what their authors want us to know.  By reviewing a vendor or even a customer’s social currency, we can see how closely their actions match their words.  We may not be literally looking each other in the eye, but by exploring a person or company’s social presence, we will find evidence of the each other’s ethics, activity level, responsiveness and global awareness.  Social media gives us all the opportunity to either credit or discredit a company’s claims based on information we find in the company’s own social media offerings and on reviews written by their customers.

The Web of today and the Deep Web right around the corner offer fewer skeleton-hiding closets.  The wide open platform gives consumers and vendors the opportunity to see each other as they are and as they’d like to be seen.  We still may know a guy who knows a guy.  Social Media gives us the chance to look each other in the virtual eye before we make the deal - even without dusty boots or cups of coffee.

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