Corporate Aviation...Is there a need?

Corporate Aviation makes up a good amount of the air travel at many airports around the United States as well as the world.  With struggling economic times and CEO’s getting larger payout than ever, corporate aviation has gotten a bad rap in the last few years, but the question remains…is corporate aviation justifiable for an organization, or is it just an excuse for CEO’s and other top management to fly in style. 

To gauge a sense if corporate aviation has a place, you must first figure out exactly what reason the company has a corporate aircraft.  Is it to fly management around to multiple factories to check on operations? Or is it to impress potential investors to join the organization?  These are just a few of the reasons that an organization utilizes aviation in its everyday operation.  Now there will always be organizations that will have an aircraft or two for the simple reason that the CEO wants to fly to destinations around the world for personal use such as play a round of golf in one location, or eat at a fancy restaurant in another.   I do agree that if used for the correct reasons, there is a justification for corporate aviation to help an organization grow.

To truly understand the importance of corporate aviation one must look at all the benefits it brings to the company.  Corporate aircrafts allow its members the ability to get to their locations faster than commercial aviation.  In addition, airports that might be closer to the final destination might be able to be utilized despite the fact that commercial air service is not offered there.  Case in point, if your ultimate destination is let’s say…. Worcester Massachusetts, your only option with commercial aviation is to fly into either Boston’s Logan airport or Providence Rhode Island and spend well over an hour in traffic to get to Worcester.  In a corporate aircraft setting, the aircraft is able to land in Worcester and only have a 10-15 minute car ride to your destination. 

Corporate aviation also allows for employees or board members to be much more rested in preparation for whatever official business they need to attend to.  There is no need to spend time waiting in lines to get past security only to wait even longer at the gate.  Corporate aircraft have a much less chance of delays that commercial aviation has.  Even if the aircraft has to be delayed by weather, corporate aircraft are able to pick alternate airports to fly into.  For example, if a commercial aircraft is scheduled to fly into Midway in Chicago and it is closed because of the weather, the flight will not be flown to Milwaukee and shuttle the passengers by bus to Midway.  In corporate aviation it would not be unfeasible to land in Milwaukee and find ground transportation to get to Chicago if needed. 

In my career in aviation management, corporate aviation will pay a role depending on where I end up working.  As I would currently like to work at a smaller reliever type airport, I could foresee an organization that might utilize the airport to conduct their operations out of.  As I am currently in the process of obtaining my dispatchers certification, I could see this as an added bonus if I was to ever management a corporate aviation department.  Being that corporate aviation falls under FAR Part 91, there is no need for the department to employ FAA certified dispatchers, having the knowledge gained in obtaining the dispatchers certification would help file flight plans and conduct proper weight and balance if that is what the company was looking for. 

A company that utilizes a large corporate aviation fleet, one that I feel it is essential for its operations, is Hendrick Motorsports.  Hendrick Motorsports is a NASCAR race team that is based just outside of Concord North Carolina.  With a fleet that consists of 3 Saab 2000, a Gulfstream V, a Falcon 900 and a Bell 430, they are able to transport many of its employees to racetracks all around the United States throughout the year.  With over 30 races each year, Hendrick Motorsports transports well over 50 employees that make up the four race teams under the Hendrick Motorsports umbrella.   With this many employees that have to travel each weekend, it would not make economical sense, but would be a logistical nightmare to rely on commercial aviation to get the job done.  The hiring requirements to manage such a fleet as Hendrick Motorsports has would require multiple years of experience.  Management experience would be a must as well as strong organizational qualities.  Depending on how exactly flights are conducted, management might have a major role in flight planning so experience in this would be highly sought after.   

Robert Crutchfield was a pilot at Hendrick Motorsports for a number of years and explained how the job had changed for him while working there.  His experiences can be found at http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/article/2009/09/16/Getting-to-know-Robert-Crutchfield-Hendrick-Motorsports-aviation

Coming soon to an airport near you.....NextGen

NextGen, which is short for Next Generation Air Transportation System, is a program that is currently being implemented around the United States that is transiting older technology of ground based navigation, which has been in use for quite a while, to newer GPS based navigation.  This will allow ATC as well as aircraft to get a much better idea of their current position, speed and direction.  Airports will be able to have aircraft land in closer proximity to each other, which will allow more flights in and out of airports helping to relieve congestion in the ground and in the air.    

NextGen will have a large impact on both commercial as well as general aviation.  Both will be able to fly into weather conditions that older land based positioning systems might not allow them to fly into.  Both commercial and general aviation flights can be filed more direct which can save not only time, fuel as well help cut emissions.  With ATC being able to have a better fix on aircraft locations, the skies will be safer for all aircraft.  All aircraft that will use NextGen will have to have newer technology to allow it to communicate with the new system.  This should not be a problem with air carriers as the majority of their fleet is equipped with the newest technology.  Many general aviation aircraft owners will have to pay for their equipment to be updated for the NextGen system, which can be rather expensive.  

NextGen will impact my future job at airports all around the United States.  As an airport manager, depending on what type and how many new approaches will be installed at the airport, NextGen will have a direct effect on the type and number of aircrafts that can land at the airport in less than ideal conditions.  This would allow airports to stay in operations in more weather situations, which will help keep the air carriers and passengers getting to and from their destinations.  More information about how the FAA foresees NextGen working for airports can be found at: 
http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/media/nextgenForAirports.pdf

The debate as to who should fund the NextGen project has been a hot topic for a while now.  It is difficult to say exactly who should fund the project as it has such an impact on the whole aviation industry.  Commercial air carriers, corporate, cargo and general aviation will all benefit to the updated NextGen system so it would make logical sense to incorporate all the users of NextGen into the funding of the project.  There are many different options on how to fund NextGen, and personally I believe that federal funds should sponsor the largest portion of the project as the FAA will be the primarily agency overseeing the operation of the NextGen system.  The FAA could accomplish this by taxing all fuel sold a certain percent to aircrafts across the United States as well as taking a percent of aircraft registration towards funding.  Airports will be utilizing the NextGen system, so they should foot some of the bill as well.  Airports could raise these funds by increasing landing fees, as well as allocating some of their budget towards the NextGen project. 

Professionalism in the Aviation Industry

My ideal job currently in the aviation industry would be managing a smaller airport, more specifically a reliever airport.  While I do enjoy the challenges that larger airports such as DTW have, I feel that managing these larger airports come after years of experience managing many different aspects of the airport environment.  My ideal location would be at an airport where there is a larger airport nearby, but pilots would choose to fly into the airport I manage because of ease of use…for example 15-20 miles away from Boston’s Logan Airport, or Philadelphia International Airport.  I could also see myself managing a FBO at a reliever airport such as AvFlight, helping create a nice and relaxing environment where transit aircrafts can get the services they need.

The responsibilities of managing an airport can vary based on the size of the airport, however no matter the size there are federal regulations that must be met in order to be in compliance with the FAA.  These regulations are more in-depth when there is air carrier service at the airport.  I would be ultimately responsible for the safe environment for both aircrafts at the airport as well as passengers and workers utilizing the services of the airport.  The responsibilities of managing an FBO would be ensuring that aircraft are secure while parked at the FBO, fuel is not contaminated and the workers are properly trained to service the aircraft, as well as making sure any additional services are in compliance with FAA standards.  All staff employed at the company must have the proper credentials and that they are on file.

Professionalism can have a different meaning for many different people.  In aviation, professionalism is extremely important because of the number of hazards that are apparent in the industry.  Countless lives as well as millions of dollars’ worth of company assets depend on proper professionalism.  While a professional is someone who is getting paid to perform the job at hand, professionalism goes further than that.  This video explains more about how professionalism and aviation go hand in hand.  http://flightsafety.org/media-center/fsf-news/video-professionalism-a-vital-element-to-ensure-aviation-safety  To me professionalism is not only performing the task you have been given, but performing that task to the best of your ability, using all your available resources, while being courteous to your customers, coworkers and employees.  For example if you were to call in sick, you could not only inform your manager if you have one, but also try to find someone to cover for you.

Colgan Air had issues with professionalism from both a management aspect as well as the pilot aspect.  Management knew that many of their pilots were in violation of crew duty hours, however many times they tried to pressure the flight crew into altering their duty hour logs in an attempt to have these pilots able to fly more flights.  Colgan Air should have acted with some professionalism and either found flight crews that had adequate rest to complete the flights or cancelled the flight all together.  They had a duty to ensure that all flights operated within Colgan Air were completed with safety in mind.  In the documentary “Flying Cheap” there was one instance where the first officer stated that the aircraft was overweight for a given flight, and upon informing the captain, was told that it was fine.  It was not until after the flight was completed, that the First Officer noted that the Captain had altered the data to make the aircraft in compliance for the flight.  This showed a sever lack of professionalism with the flight crew.  The First Officer should have been more adamant in insisting that the flight not have been conducted until the weight was within the correct standards.  The Captain demonstrated a lack of professionalism more so than the First Officer when he altered the data, creating an unsafe working environment for the flight crew and passengers. 

I plan to keep up with my professionalism in the aviation industry by attending seminars about aviation topics, mainly safety, throughout the year as well as attend management seminars.  Attending both will help insure that I can stay as professional as possible and be an effective, efficient and safe manager.

Introduction

I am a senior at Eastern Michigan University studying Aviation Management.  I first got into aviation at a young age as my parents took me to Oshkosh, WI when I was about 5 years old for the EAA fly-in.   As a child I always dreamed that I would grow up and become an airline pilot, however my interests changed and I focused my studies elsewhere eventually obtaining a degree in Human Nutrition.  I worked in the healthcare field for a number of years before relocating to Michigan with my wife.  It was during this time that I found my interests once again leaning towards aviation.  While relocating to Michigan, that I found that Eastern Michigan University offered a degree in Aviation Management so I figured if I was going to change careers, now was the time!

My wife and I have a new addition to our family with a week old baby currently taking up a rather large chunk of our time.  It will be interesting balancing work, study and family, which will require greater organization and time management.  But I could not be happier. 

I am excited for AVT 422 senior seminar, which I feel will help establish networking that will be beneficial when looking to start my career upon graduation.  My goal for the class are to finalize my resume and cover letter, as well as explore as many different aspects of aviation as possible before concentrating my job search.