Plane Conversations

In previous posts I have  discussed the safety aspects of selecting an aviation services company when you want to charter a private jet.  Once you have satisfied any questions regarding the safety practices of the operator(s) you might do business with, the next step is to look at the available aircraft they have to offer. If you have a lot of choices then you want to pick the aircraft that best fits the mission requirements for the trip you are planning. Operators can give you the capabilities of their aircraft including seating configuration, non-stop range, speed, cabin size and amenities on board. They will also readily give you prices on your trip in each aircraft with flight times so you can easily compare the different options. Good operators are glad to talk with you and provide information with no strings attached.

If price is a factor, then you want to choose the aircraft that can do the mission most economically. Are you willing to ride in a turbo-prop aircraft? We use the term “private jet” a lot but our industry also offers safe, reliable and comfortable service in aircraft powered by turbine engines with propellers. Turbo-prop aircraft burn less fuel than most of their jet counterparts and, in most cases, cost less to maintain. This translates to lower rates to you on many trips.  Propeller aircraft are slower than jet aircraft; so, the distance of your trip will determine which is most cost effective.  For instance, if you are travelling from Santa Barbara to San Diego with four passengers, a King Air will run that one hour trip for you in a both cost and time efficient manner.  However, if you want take those same four passengers from Santa Barbara to Tacoma, the King Air will take three hours 45 minutes; so, you  might want to look at a jet.  The difference in speed makes up for the difference in hourly rate; so, for operators who charge by the flight hour rather than by the mile (and most operators do), the jet is going to be the most cost effective aircraft for the trip.

If you can’t get used to the idea that you can ride on an aircraft with propellers then there are still many jet options that can get you there efficiently. We will talk more in the future about the differences between jet and turbo-prop aircraft.

Even between jet aircraft there are things to consider when choosing the right one for your trip.  What is the seating configuration?  Is the lavatory enclosed?  Is there enough baggage space?  If you wanted a light jet for an eight passenger trip from St. Louis to Tulsa, you could use a Lear 35.  The aircraft has four individual seats, a seat on the lavatory and a three-person divan, which is a little snug, but for a flight of just over an hour, it could be done.  The Citation V aircraft is a little slower than the Lear, but also a good light jet choice.  I would comfortably recommend either aircraft for that trip.  However, if you took those same eight passengers from St. Louis to Las Vegas, I would recommend the Citation over the Lear.  The Lear is faster, but the Citation has individual seats, making the three and a half hour flight more comfortable.  Your charter operator will be happy to give you the advantages and disadvantages of the aircraft they have available.

If you have the time, and have not already made a visit to the airport, go take a look at the aircraft you might be using. Your prospective operator will gladly show you their aircraft and give you the tour. I have yet to meet a prospective client who did not enjoy visiting us at the airport and looking at aircraft. Hop aboard and sit in the seat you will be riding in. Get a feel for what it would be like on a trip.

Armed with a price comparison of different aircraft on specific trips and a first-hand feel for what the aircraft looks and feels like in the cabin, you are ready to go flying.

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Growing up in the southern United States, I learned a whole lot of sayings and idioms that brought humor and spice to the conversations around the dinner table. When I was eating more than I could possibly hold, my grandmother would tell me that I had a “hollow leg”. In the charter business, you’ll often hear us refer to an “empty leg,” but it has a completely different meaning from my grandmother’s phrase.

In the business of providing private jet transportation, we often find ourselves flying an aircraft with no passengers on board.  We’re either on the way to pick passengers up or returning  after dropping them off.  Each take-off and landing constitutes a flight segment or “leg”. Those with no passengers on board  are called “empty legs.”  Sometimes you will hear these legs referred to as “deadheads,” or “one-ways.”  They are all pretty much the same thing, although sometimes charter brokers will make marketing distinctions between the terms. 

Due to the nature of what we do – flights to out of the way airports, different destinations every day, and different times of departure - we seldom run the same trip twice.

Two situations create what we call “empty legs” or flight segments. We may be asked by a customer to go to Denver, for example, to pick up  passengers and drop them off at Memphis.  Our aircraft that best fits the mission is not located at either of those cities, so our starting point might be at Knoxville, where the aircraft is based.  In this case, we end up with two empty legs - Knoxville to Denver, Memphis to Knoxville. The more common situation that creates an empty leg is the drop-off and pickup trip. A client needs to be taken from our home base to another city, where they stay for seven days and then return. It is more cost-effective for us to drop them off, return the aircraft and crew to home base, and then pick them up seven days later than it is to leave the aircraft and pilots at their destination.  This creates two empty legs: the retun to home base on day one and the flight to pick them up on day seven. 

This seems inefficient and, in reality, it is. The problem in our industry has been how to reduce the empty legs created by these scenarios. When I first started (before email and the internet) the only way to solve the problem was to get on the phone and speak to anyone who might have an interest in paying to be on those empty legs. That didn’t work too well and, consequently, empty legs remained empty.  With the advent of the fax machine we started sending blast faxes to anyone and everyone who might be interested in those empty legs, but that, too, was ineffective. Today, with the means to reach vast audiences quickly through the power of the internet, whole businesses have been developed, the sole purpose of which is to match the availability of an empty leg with the  demand that must surely be out there to fill some of those empty seats. Much has been done, but as an industry, we are still not even scratching the surface of the opportunity.

With the explosion of social media, we can expect innovation in how our industry lets you know about those empty legs and, more importantly, how they are priced. Even better, what if travelers could talk to each other about where and when they want to go somewhere, then buy a matching empty leg split the costs.  How cool would it be to fly on a private jet for the same price  you might pay for a walk-up fare on scheduled airlines (mass transit)?  That;s the best part about empty legs: they’re cheap.  

Having hopped a ride on some of those empty legs I can tell you from experience it is pretty cool.

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Charter (rent) versus Owning a Private Jet
Part 1: Aircraft Ownership Economics 101

There are varying reasons why people choose to charter or rent aircraft versus buying them. Not all reasons are purely economic, but let’s start at the most basic level of the economics of these choices.

There are two basic components of aircraft operating costs.

1. Fixed Costs include the capital investment in the aircraft, insurance, storage of the aircraft, property taxes, salaries for those employed to fly and maintain the aircraft and, in some cases, certain maintenance requirements for an aircraft since they are driven by the calendar rather than by aircraft utilization.

2.  Variable Costs: These costs happen only when the aircraft flies. They include things like fuel, engine costs, maintenance requirements that are driven by utilization (flight hours on an aircraft versus miles driven on an auto). Other variable costs could be landing fees, in-flight catering, and pilot / crew expenses when the aircraft is out on trips.

In most cases these costs, both fixed and variable, remain fairly constant whether you own the aircraft or you are chartering it from someone else who either owns or manages it for its owner. The aircraft burns the same amount of fuel and requires the same maintenance regardless of the ownership. There are some economies of scale that can be obtained by larger operators to reduce the variable side of the equation, but let’s set that aside for now to talk about the relationship between fixed and variable costs of operating an aircraft.

Variable costs are a constant and the measure to use is dollars per flight hour. For example, let’s say that the variable costs per flight hour for your favorite jet are $1000 per flight hour. Every hour you fly the aircraft on trips whether business or pleasure costs $1000. Simple enough!

Fixed costs for your favorite jet are measured in dollars per calendar time. You can use a month or a year, whichever works best for you. If your favorite jet costs $300,000 per year for all of the fixed costs mentioned above, that expense happens whether you fly one hour or 300 hours. For simplicity’s sake, let’s say you use the jet 300 hours per year. If I spread the fixed costs over those 300 hours of use then the fixed costs are costing me $1000 per flight hour.

At this rate of use it is costing the owner $2000 per flight hour to own and operate the aircraft.  Double the use to 600 hours per year and the costs go from $2000 to $1500 per flight hour.
The aircraft doesn’t really care who owns it and who uses it. Those of us in the business get emotionally attached to these flying machines but the secret is out - they are just machines. The cost side of the economics only changes with the utilization and possibly some economy of scale.

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Historically strategies were created based on assumptions made about how the markets respond and to what. The aim of a strategy was to create market differential, awareness and value that the market would respond to.

“Clients of an organization, whether they are citizens or customers, now have ready access to these tools. For all the supposed decisiveness of managed organizations, by relying on legal and PR departments to respond, most companies now react more slowly than their customers. In the new world we’ve entered, you can only stonewall things on your side of the wall, yet most media is no longer on that side of the wall.”

Strategy is Now Driven From the Other Side of the Wall

Creating a road map of how your organization will succeed is now a process driven by the conversations from the market. Previously strategy did include an assessment of the market but limited by the perspective and terms of how one defines “the market“. The definition of market has changed in that consumers and business are now engaged in defining the market more than ever before. The definition and sentiment of a market are being framed by real time conversations about anything, everything, anyone and everyone.

Market sentiment used to be contained within the walls of a corporation. Complaints were reviewed as were compliments. Compliments were added to the marketing mix while complaints were buried until results reflected the need for change.

Today both complaints and praises are in real time and out in the open for everyone to see. Anything placed on the web enters the digital library and the more content that references your business the more visible it is the Google. The higher the visibility the easier it is to be found by others.

Before making a purchase or taking a job what do people do? 95% go the web to gather references and intelligence. Said references and intelligence are no longer driven by your media rather they are driven by media created by your market.

If you understand the power of a network then you know that three satisfied customers may tell three friends and those three friend may tell twenty seven then you know the power of the coice of the customer has just been accelerated by the web. The same is true about angry customers. One angry customer can reach 3,000 people at the click of a mouse. Those three thousand can reach over 100,000 given the power of networks.

The web works based on a rate of change and a rate of interest. Which gets you the highest rate? Satisfied or angry customers? Do the math.

Strategy is critical for any business but if you are following old strategic methods then you will fail critically. Today failure is instantaneously spread at the click of a mouse. The markets of conversations spread faster than most organizations can react. Building a strategy from the outside in is vital to your future success. When markets change so must your strategy. Much has to change starting with your thinking. Get it?

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In previous posts I have written about the greatest value proposition private aviation brings to the table – time.

Have you thought about how much time you really have and how you want to spend it?

Time is for sure a finite resource we possess.

So, let’s propose that on average we may live 80 years on this earth. If we do the math and calculate our resource of time using the measurement of hours then we have 700,800 units to spend. Unlike other resources we possess these units spend at a rate of 24 per day whether we want to spend them or not.

Now, I am pushing 50 years of age; so, I have already spent about 438,000 units of my time resource. As a percentage of the average human allocation of personal time resource ,I have about 37.5% or 262,800 units of my time left here on planet earth.  

Other interesting facts to bring into the analysis –

There is no guarantee that you or I will make the average. Some of us don’t get there and some of us exceed the average and none of us have much of a choice in the matter. We can take better care of ourselves, raising the odds of increasing the resource; but, we don’t have total control over it. For those out there who like to control everything that is a very uncomfortable notion.

The Bucket List

One of my favorite movies of the past few years is the movie “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Two guys of unequal economic status find themselves in a similar predicament - both diagnosed with a terminal illness, struck with the realization that their time is almost up.

Most of you reading this have seen the movie; so, you will know what I mean when I ask the question: What is in your bucket list? Morgan Freeman’s character in the movie came to a realization at the end of the story that maybe the best use of his time was spending with the people he loved the most. 

Can you understand the frustration people have when they are stuck in the airport terminal because of a flight delay or cancellation? I will bet you anything that sitting in  the Chicago O’Hare terminal on Friday afternoon is not on anyone’s bucket list.

What I will tell you in this post and future posts through stories and different points of view is that the value proposition private aircraft travel brings is in the form of time buyback.

Why do business travelers use private aircraft for the travel they must do to grow their business even when it may cost much more? Because more than anyone, the savvy executive understands the value of his or her time. They know that they don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done under normal conditions; and, they certainly don’t relish the idea of wasting time sitting in an airline terminal.

What’s it worth to be home on Friday afternoon with the most important people (MIPs) in your life? What would you pay to be sitting with them in front of the fireplace versus sitting in the terminal building with a group of frustrated travelers who want to be home with their MIPs?

I look forward to the day when we , in the business of private jet travel, can make it more affordable for those of you who value your time.

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Southwest Airlines (SWA) is one of my favorite companies. In some ways I guess we in the private jet charter business compete with these guys at a certain level of customer. Maybe we compete with them more than we know. A few years ago I read an article featuring a CEO of a successful national company and he said that SWA was their corporate jet. His stockholders had to love that frugal mentality. SWA definitely Luv’d it. 

What can the private aircraft industry learn from these guys?

Price: Price matters. SWA with their ability to price their product lower than other carriers and still make a profit revolutionized air travel. When I was a kid, airline travel was something really unique and special -mostly because a big portion of us could not afford it. SWA made it affordable for the masses. SWA got people off the highways and the Greyhound bus and into the air. I still hear comments like: you can’t drive there for that price.
Simplicity: Somehow over the years, airlines, in their infinite wisdom, created a pricing structure that no one has yet to understand. You may be sitting in a seat next to a guy who paid 5 times more than you paid for the same space. SWA has made it easy on us. The fares are simple, logical and it is easy to book the flight. Even their rewards program is simple. And what about those new baggage fees that the other guys charge? None of that confusion and frustration with Southwest.
Consistent Reliable Friendly Service: Depart on time, smile, don’t lose my stuff, give me a coke and some peanuts and let me ride on a clean airplane.Do all that time and time again for a great price and you’ve got my business!

How can we emulate SWA’s success story in the private aircraft business?

First, we have to figure out the price problem. I don’t know a single person who has ever flown on a private aircraft who wants to go back to the airlines; but, they reluctantly do so because of price. Good news is coming on that front. New technology, efficient aircraft are here and more are on the way. These aircraft will drive the price of private aircraft transportation down. And just like our friends at SWA have proven, if you offer something people want and you can deliver at a better price, more people will buy it.

Simplicity is another issue. With so many types of aircraft and so many operators out there to choose from how do we simplify our service and pricing? Jet Cards where you buy a block of 25 or 50 hours of time on a private jet has been an innovation in marketing that has simplified it for many. There is still a lot of room for innovation in simplifying what we do. 

Consistent Reliable Friendly Service: We do a pretty good job on this one. But we can always do better!

Where do we start in improving our model? How about listening to the people who use our service. And better yet, how about listening to those who don’t use us today? What do they have to say?

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Sometimes we wonder why people don’t understand what we are saying. Lots of time people wonder what are we saying. In these instances there is a gap in understanding who is communicating what and why.

Understanding comes from knowledge. When we talk to people who have specific knowledge about something that we don’t have sometimes it is difficult to put the conversation into context. Most of us try to put new knowledge into context with old knowledge we have. It doesn’t work.

The Mind Frame of Private Aviation

Ever had someone view a problem differently than those who have the problem? When you are not close to a problem sometimes your perspective sees things that those close to it can’t.  The reason is that paradigms, beliefs based on experience, become barriers to seeing things differently and, more importantly, paradigms inhibit innovation.

The news from private aviation and aviation in general is depressing. Airlines losing money, private aviation is upside down and inside out. If you haven’t noticed, many are believing things are as bad as they seem and communicating “bad news” to each other. Bad news begets bad news which reinforces beliefs that just propagate more bad news. On the other hand some ignore “bad news” and choose to believe it is only temporary and that good times will be back soon.  Then the harsh reality hits and the only reaction is “cut cost” so we can survive.  Sound familiar?

A Shrinking Market Doesn’t Expand

Have you seen the latest report from NetJets?  Not good, major cuts and reductions. This seems to be the flavor of the day and subsequently we will see many more doing the same. Why? Because the old market you’ve been serving is indeed shrinking and not likely to come back. So when a market shrinks you have basically two choices. Shrink with it or expand your market.

To expand a market you need two things. Innovation that improves your offering and a market that will consume your offering. Now when it comes to air travel there is an obvious market of consumption that is being fed by commercial airlines. Yet the experience created by that market is at an all time low.   The idea of commercial airline innovation is representative of what Southwest has done. Yet Southwest cannot effectively serve the entire market and the experience is still dreadful.

Improve & Innovate Private Aviation

As I watch and read the events unfolding in private aviation the solution seems obvious to me. Then again, I am outside the industry but that could be a good thing. As a strategist I see several things that must change in order for the private aviation industry to not only survive but thrive. These are:

1. Expand your reach. Most travelers have never experienced and are unaware of the value and benefit of private aviation. This means you must communicate but do so in the terms markets can understand. You must also become relational. In other words - drop the elitist attitudes.
2. Leverage technology. Technology is exploding daily. The technology is social in that it enables you to reach markets like never before. But the technology is only as good as your knowledge of how to use it effectively and efficiently.
3. Collaborate Rather Than Compete: If you all are chasing the same old market and that market is shrinking, then to expand, you must collaborate. Competing for a smaller pie means you all get less. Collaborate and expand your collective market by using knowledge about new models, methods and markets ripe for an alternative to commercial travel. This will require new thinking and that will require new knowledge. Learn together.
4. Innovate or Die:Let’s face it. Your model doesn’t work. Your capital is shrinking and you’re facing a slow but obvious decline. Innovation comes from thinking outside your existing system and working together to create new markets, new models and increased revenue for all. Innovation doesn’t come from silo mentality. It comes from collaboration and ideation. What is that? It comes from “collaborating with crowds.”
5. Don’t Wait For Tomorrow: A sense of urgency is needed and the current market ought to give you enough urgency to do 1 -4 above immediately. Tomorrow isn’t likely to bring you the markets you want, rather, they are waiting for you. The markets are waiting for you to change, move and communicate like never before.

If you are ready, say so. If you are not, well then, stand aside and let those that are change their minds and thus change your industry.

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As I have been thinking about the innovation necessary for business and private aviation not only to recover, but also to grow in the future, thoughts have also come to mind about every part of the supply chain in our industry.

The business that I lead  is part of that supply chain at different levels and I have many friends with whom I do business, both customers and vendors, who are also part of the chain.

To mention a few, and I am sure to miss some, the supply chain includes:

• Airports as the basic infrastructure of our business, both large and small
• Maintenance,Repair and Overhaul companies that keep the aircraft in the air – everything from the largest aircraft overhaul maintenance facilities to the small shops that paint aircraft and rework aircraft interiors and perform maintenance on single engine trainers.
• Fixed Based Operations – who fuel and store aircraft and are the terminals for private aircraft travelers, in many cases
• Aviation Insurance Industry who underwrite and market the risk associated with operating aircraft 
• Manufacturers of aircraft and all those companies who manufacturer the components of an aircraft in support of the aircraft manufacturers
• Aircraft Sales Organizations who sell and resell aircraft
• Flight training schools who teach the pilots how to fly the aircraft
• Universities who train the next generation of pilots, maintenance and management personnel for the industry

The end of the supply chain is the aircraft sitting on the tarmac ready to fly. If the airplane doesn’t fly then the whole chain is useless and can be discarded like a worn out bicycle chain!

The beneficiary and, more importantly, the driver of the supply chain is the user of private aviation. The traveler who decides to spend money on this form of travel! 

Ultimately, if the aircraft don’t fly then the supply chain suffers all the way down the line. In the last 12 months everyone in that supply chain has been adversely affected by the economic downturn and the reduction in travel by private aircraft. Just ask any of the people who run any of the businesses mentioned above if they are worried about the industry’s future and their business. I think I know the answer you will get because I have talked to many of them myself.

So here is the problem -the end of the supply chain is broken, and it did not get broken all by itself. Those down the chain contributed equally to the problem by not innovating their own business models to reduce the cost of the end product. The cost model for private aviation needs to be fixed if we are to grow. If the end of the chain is broken then the links down the chain can’t expect to continue to prosper and grow. Sometimes these parts of the chain don’t feel the effects of the broken link immediately but logic says they will eventually. It is just a matter of time.

So the questions I pose to those of you in the supply chain are these:

• Is it in your best interest to help fix the broken link? 
• Do you search and fight for innovation in your part of the chain and promote innovation both up and down the chain?
• Do you join in the conversation with those looking for a better way?  
• Or do you just sit back and wait for someone else to fix the problem, hoping they do, so that you can keep going?

I for one don’t like the idea of waiting on someone else to fix the problem. The “someone else” solution may not include me in it! 

What about you?

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One evening, our last departure from Jackson to Dallas was delayed due to a nasty weather system sitting right over the DFW airport. I announced our delay to the passengers waiting in the gate area.  I had checked everyone’s connections which were still okay since delays of every inbound flight meant delays for every outbound flight. I invited anyone with additional questions or concerns to see me at the podium. The line formed so fast, you’d have thought I was giving away money. I realized people were tense, though; so, I checked connections for individuals who, reassured, returned to their seats. The passenger next to last in line approached and asked, “What about those of us just going to Dallas?” I cocked my head in that way of dogs hearing high-pitched noises.  ”I’m sorry?” I said, “I don’t think I understand what you’re asking me.” She repeated, “I’m just going to Dallas: I don’t have another flight.” Unsure of exactly how to respond, I finally settled on, “Well, ma’am. The city isn’t going anywhere.” To my surprise, that seemed to satisfy her as much as it baffled me and the man standing in line behind her. She returned to her seat while I shook my head and helped the last passenger.

As one of the US’s busiest airports, DFW sees an average of nearly 1800 flights daily (based on 2008 figures of 656,310 movements). Read it again, but you saw it right the first time – 1800!  It’s no wonder that even a small glitch in the system causes a ripple effect with frustrating and far-reaching consequences. One of the risks of using air mass-transit is that your choices of routes are pretty limited. Most legacy carriers still operate using the hub and spoke model – you board your flight in a smaller market or spoke city and funnel into the hub to connect to another flight to your smaller market destination. It can be and once was an efficient system; however, funneling that amount of traffic through hub cities creates delay possibilities.  However, in most large markets, private aviation gives you alternate airports to the overloaded commercial hubs. In Atlanta, the Fulton County Airport is a great alternative. In Detroit, Willow Run might be a good choice and in Dallas, the Dallas Executive Airport could be your best bet. In all cases, decreased air and ground traffic allow you to travel more efficiently in those metro areas, although the big airports may be technically closer.

There is a world of difference between standing at Cutter Aviation or Ambassador Jet Center at Dallas Exec, waiting for a storm system to pass and waiting  at DFW Gate C33 for the same system. In both cases, the same safety rules apply: no aircraft fueling when lightning is present, no take-offs or landings when visibility is below minimums or when certain other weather conditions are present. The marked differences come just after the storm clears. At Dallas Exec, there may be three aircraft waiting to taxi and take off as soon as conditions allow. At DFW, on the other hand, there may be thirty aircraft in line ahead of you. As a first officer announced on one flight I took, “Well, we’re number, uh, we’re number, uh. Well, we’re just so far back in line here, I’m not exactly sure when we’re going to take off.” The way just looks clearer from the Dallas Executive taxiway.

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Private aviation is feeling the effects of the economic downturn with growing job losses and plummeting business confidence. This has translated into cuts in private aircraft usage; so, many in the private charter brand category are looking for ways to reach the business market in a more cost-effective way. In a departure from traditional marketing practices, private aviation brands ought to be  increasingly turning to the web for promoting their proposition as well as seeking out new audiences that would like to find alternative ways to travel. The problem is that although private aviation businesses all have web presences now, many fail to realize the full potential of this new thing called social media.

Since private aviation is considered a luxury, one wonders whether  other luxury brands are using social media. According to the Luxury Institute the trend towards e-commerce is already happening in the US:

• In 2008, 33% of luxury brands had e-commerce sites.
• In 2009, 66% percent had e-commerce sites.
• Luxury consumers are individuals who make $419,000+ per year.
• 48% of them are on Facebook, and 14% of them are on Twitter.

How Does Private Aviation Stack Up?

While all private charter businesses  now have established websites, generally their approach to digital marketing (specifically, search, social & target marketing) is often sub-optimal and fails to unleash the full potential of this channel and the related technology. This is because the aviation industry has failed to educate itself as to the power of this thing called social media.  This is evident by:

• Insufficient senior management buy-in (e.g. formal corporate KPI’s for digital marketing)
• Organizational ‘silos’ causing disconnects between ‘digital initiatives’ and ‘physical initiatives’ – for example the industry continues to use old media channels and chases the same old audience rather than trying to expand the audience.
• Lack of clarity around the objectives (selling vs branding vs engaging) – this then reflects as a lack of an online strategy, leading to confusion and a total lack of knowledge and understanding
• Small marketing budgets, if any, allocated for online activities while still using expensive off-line channels to message a shrinking market of listeners
• Within the online budget, poor use of distribution tools and conversational content. The Aviation Industry needs education on various other channels that would produce much better outcomes (such as search and social).
• A tendency to consider this thing called social media as something buyers of charter service don’t use. Wrong again, the largest adoption of this new technology is from people in the age bracket of 45 – 55 and their average income is in the high six figures.  Does that sound like a market operators should reach?

From my prospective, while the private aviation industry moans about a depressed market, few if any show evidence of innovative ways to expand their market and reach a larger audience.  Many operators take the attitude that their service is too costly for the larger audience.  Really? Then how about leveraging a larger user base, fill your seats and subsequently lower your cost per seat, per leg?   Doing so would enable your market to expand and applying the innovation afforded by social technology would allow you to reach the larger audience efficiently and effectively.

There is an old saying “If you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always got but today you’ll get less.” How are those old ways working for you?  Not good huh? Then innovate!

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