Over the last 2 days, I’ve been in touch with a number of flight school owners and other people in GA related businesses. The overall picture is mixed. Here are some snippets of what I’m hearing.
Some flight schools are down as much as 40% over the last 2 years and a few have gone out of business. Others are managing to keep sales relatively constant. Some of this is a function of local market conditions. But a key factor seems to be...
the attitude and outlook of the owners. Those who are actively looking for creative new ways to bring clients in the door are doing better than those with a “woe is me” attitude. After all, wouldn’t you prefer to work with someone who is cheerful and positive?
Indications are that corporate jet traffic is down 20 to 25%. No surprise there. Most companies are looking for ways to cut discretionary spending. While a few are selling their fleets, most are closely scrutinizing the justification for each trip. Business jets won’t fade away. Business is about face-to-face relationships and many of these have to occur in small towns with poor airline service.
Used aircraft inventories are up and prices are down. Yet many avionics shops are doing well, especially with upgrades for older aircraft. Now is a great time to buy an older plane and upgrade it with glass panels like those from Aspen Avionics or the Garmin G600.
A Tale of Two Rods
Last night I had dinner with Rod Rakic of MyTransponder.com, a social networking site for pilots. This morning I was on the phone with author and speaker Rod Machado. Both are very optimistic for the future of General Aviation and will be at Sun ‘n Fun next month.
This afternoon, my TSA screener at the San Jose, CA airport noticed from my shirt that I was a CFI and told me that she had always wanted to learn to fly. We talked for 1-2 minutes about steps she could take before I moved on to take off my shoes. A lot of people still want to learn to fly. We just have to all be welcoming ambassadors who help them find a way to fulfill their dream.
Tonight, I’ll be in Wichita, Kansas, the largest center of GA activity in the world. Cessna CEO Jack Pelton has been hard at work in Washington D.C. the last two weeks working with his GAMA colleagues to battle some of the unfortunate statements and policy proposals that have come out of D.C. recently. Cessna VP of Marketing Tom Aniello spoke last week of Cessna’s bold new leadership campaign to encourage businesses to embrace and promote their GA fleets rather than shrink away from them.
These are turbulent times for GA, but change always creates opportunity for optimists and visionaries. Tomorrow, I’ll start flying back to California with the owner of a new Cessna C208 Caravan. It should be fun not to have any access to Cable TV and Its non-stop depressing news. Think about turning your TV off too and how you’re going to capitalize on these turbulent times. While you’re at it, take a friend flying and introduce them to the world of aviation. You’ll both feel better afterwards!
Who is your aviation role model for uncertain times like these? Mine is Clyde Cessna.
Clyde's first big airplane manufacturing contract required a big new building for the additional workload. With the building came increased expenses. Not long after Cessna started production in their new facility, the Great Depression hit, airplane sales and contracts disappeared and so did the money. Clyde argued to continue building airplanes, but the board of directors wanted to rent out the factory floor for storage space. The board won, and Clyde was ousted from the company he founded.
Clyde never gave up...he started building planes for the air race circuit and developed several advancements along the way. Soon the name Cessna meant SPEED. Years later, after monumental help from his nephews, Clyde was re-instated as President of Cessna Aircraft Company.
Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be kicked out of your own company during a recession? Would any of us have the same persistence as Clyde and his nephews?
Posted by: Matt Thomas | March 07, 2009 at 07:09 PM
Great post Max! Thank you for not beating around the bush, you always get right to the point and are objective about it. Keep up the good work.
I'm working on my LASP post right now.
Stay in touch!
Jason
www.m0a.com
Posted by: Jason | March 09, 2009 at 08:32 AM
Lets hope as we approach a new "Learn to Fly" season as weather improves for much of the country that there is a better turnout than in past years.
I continue to see solid interest with the Chicago Aviation Meetup group I formed last year. I am hoping we can get one or new pilots out of the group this year.
Posted by: Todd | March 16, 2009 at 07:11 PM