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Well, glory be!

Business aviation has a new friend and CBS Evening News ran a great video telling the good news.

I gotta admit I would have missed this (I was attending my 50th high school reunion and was too busy hugging women to be watching the news) if it hadn’t been reported in AOPA’s Aviation e-Brief. I went to the site and there was the CBS video showing and telling the good side of the business aviation story.

This may be a major turning point. Ever since November—when three of the large automakers flew three corporate jets to Washington to beg for bailout money—we’ve heard naught but vilification about corporate aircraft. Now the mayors of 70 small cities are asking Obama—who sneeringly referred to such aircraft as “fancy jets”—to help undo the bad rep of corporate aircraft.

Think of it—city guvmints are asking the federal guvmint to call off the dogs.

Wonderful! At last we have someone other than our own industry telling our story. These are our users and customers, and they say they need us.

If it hasn’t been yanked yet, you can see the story and video yourself at…

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/17/eveningnews/main5021145.shtml

Enjoy.

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… attendees were given an outline of a general aviation security training program being run by the Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) in Pewaukee, WI. The program is being underwritten by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, thus participation is free. Brian Dorow and Gus Moulas of WCTC say that their hands-on training sessions are booked through 2010, which has prompted the college to build an online program, available at www.generalaviationsecurity.com.

The goal of the program is two-fold: to educate first-responders about the logistics of a GA airfield and the potential threats and challenges therein; and, to educate anyone else – from airports to tenants to pilots to neighbors – about security awareness. Moulas says that WCTC is working closely with AOPA’s Airport Watch program.

The WCTC website offers GA airport operators the opportunity to assess the threat level at their facilities by plugging in various data such as number of based aircraft; types of operations (Part 91, 135, etc.); class of airspace; and potential targets near an airfield (for example, a stadium). That assessment helps to determine which of three levels of training offered by WCTC is most appropriate for an airport and its interested parties.

This is all about education. One concern, says Moulas, is that law enforcement officials do not make regular visits to their local general aviation airport. Educating them about the need can heighten security and also contain other potential crimes. First responders in a community may also be unfamiliar with the challenges an airfield can present. “Our first-responder course adds a skill set,” says Moulas.

Thanks for reading. jfi

… in an attempt to get the White House to recognize the importance of general aviation to their communities. In a conference call with the media on Wednesday, four of the 70 civic officials who signed the letter to President Obama outlined the critical role GA plays locally. The letter, dated April 22, has yet to draw an official response from Washington.

Comments Wichita mayor Carl Brewer, “We do know that our letter was presented to the President. At this point in time, we haven’t heard anything.” Brewer estimates that Wichita has lost some 9,000 jobs due to the economy and the negative press coming out of Washington regarding private aircraft.

Wednesday’s media initiative was coordinated by the Alliance for Aviation Across America (www.aviationacrossamerica.org) which seeks to educate the public and other government officials about the vital role of GA. Says the letter, “We call on you to help protect the 1.2 million good paying jobs and $150 billion per year in economic output created by GA. Mr. President, small and mid-size communities like ours need the manufacturing and service jobs which general aviation makes possible. Ready access to these airplanes provides a crucial lifeline to rural America, connecting farmers, charitable groups, and individuals with resources, tools, and business to national and world markets.”

It’s not unlike the letter sent to Obama in March by Jim Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association. That four-page effort has yet to draw an official response either.

What makes today’s announcement most significant is that it comes from mayors and other civic leaders – not aviation interests – and one would presume that their plea might be more apt to get the Administration’s attention. They shouldn’t hold their breath.

Yet, it was Coyne who may have stated the cause most poignantly: “It’s time to stop the populist demonizing. It’s time, instead, to support, if only with words, an outstanding American success story.”

Maybe the best way to get the President’s attention is to make all the general aviation workers members of the United Auto Workers. Then the feds can take control of Cessna, Hawker-Beechcraft, Piper and others to make sure no more jobs are lost.

Thanks for reading. jfi

Never thought I’d see the day when one of the biggest topics in the country was what is, or is not, torture.

I have a suggestion…

If you really want people to spill their guts, put them in a middle seat in economy class on any airline. Then fly them back and forth between New York, say, and any city on the left coast. Tell them they can get off whenever they start talking. I doubt they can stand more than two round trips.

Can you tell that I have just flown the airlines across the continent? Nothing went drastically wrong, except that the westbound leg took off with no—repeat no—potable water. That meant no coffee, no tea, and no real washing of hands. This came while the whole world was talking of swine flu, so washing hands seemed important. Fortunately, I had a little bottle of sanitary hand cleaner, so was better off than most.

Other than that, it was just same old, same old, and that means it was more or less awful, starting with trying to get the airline on the phone in the first place. How in the world can anyone survive treating customers that way?

I live in Erwin, a very small town in the mountains of east Tennessee, and my friends in cities tease me about living in a hick town. Humpf!

If you have tried to phone any large company lately—say a phone company, airline, insurance company or large bank—then you know it is a miserable, painful, and insulting experience. Let me tell you how it works in Erwin.

I needed to get our riding lawn mower—which will not fit into the back of my little pickup truck—prepared for the summer. In a city that would require research, big bucks, a long delay, and other indignities.

In Erwin I asked fellow Kiwanis members. They recommended Keesecker Appliance. I asked Sammy Keesecker, also a Kiwanian, and he said sure. Within a few days, men from Keesecker picked up my lawn mower, took it to the shop and changed the oil, sharpened the blades, aired up the tires, replaced filters, checked it out, cleaned it up, and brought it back.

The total charge? $42.86. And that’s typical of business in Erwin. Eat your heart out, city folk.

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… may be that the meeting was held at all, considering the state of the industry and what’s happening with meetings these days. Some 80-100 attendees heard that the economy will slog through 2009; the day for finding a replacement for low-lead avgas is upon us; and, communication between TSA and the industry may be on the road to improving; among other issues.

Some highlights …

• Dr. Bernard Weinstein, director for the center for economic development at the University of North Texas, says his worry for the economy today is the potential for commercial real estate defaults, a la the recent bankruptcy filing by a major mall developer. “That shoe is starting to fall,” he says. Dr. Weinstein says the U.S. is in for a “slow slog” back to economic health.
• Mike Chase, president of Chase & Associates, reports that some 2,800 of the 16,545 bizjets in the marketplace today are up for sale – some 17 percent.
• David L. Scheffler, a CPA and president of the Fairfield County (OH) Airport Authority, says his airport has seen little corporate aircraft activity since the Big 3 automakers made their infamous trek to the nation’s capital. “It’s like someone flipped a switch,” he comments.
• In fact, Bill Koch, president/CEO of charter operator Imaginaire and a former NATA chair, says the number one issue facing GA companies today is the perception of business aviation. There is hope, however, according to Andy Cebula, executive VP at AOPA, who reports that recent survey results of “influencers” on the perception of GA show that 68 percent have a favorable impression, and 53 percent see the industry as very important. There’s a “strong view” that GA airports are a positive force for communities, says Cebula.
• Cebula relates that AOPA had expected the environment to be the leading issue in 2009, until the economy tanked. Green regulations remain on the horizon, though, with 100LL a top target. He points out that several companies are currently working on an avgas alternative. Once one enters the market, the questions that will need to be answered concern how aircraft owners may need to modify their powerplants as well as how such a development will impact fixed base operators regarding storage/distribution.
• Then there’s the Transportation Security Administration, which caught the industry’s ire recently with its proposed Large Aircraft Security Program, which is currently undergoing a rethink. Craig Spence, VP of regulatory policy at AOPA, reports that TSA is in the process of collecting self-assessments of some 3,000 GA airports via the Internet. The intent is to get a baseline of data to use for future decisionmaking. His fear: “This will become the new noise.”
• Regarding TSA, a key criticism from industry reps is the ongoing veil of secrecy and lack of communication by the agency on initiatives from the LASP proposal to Security Directive 8-F to the Playbook program. AOPA’s Spence says that “alternatives are desperately needed” for smaller general aviation airports when it comes to security; he also says his association advocates a common form of identity credential industrywide. Lisa Piccione, senior VP at NBAA, calls on TSA to consider different levels of security for different categories of airport, much like FAA regulates Part 91 versus 135 versus 121.
• On the issue of TSA and its communication skills, the audience was introduced to Juan Barnes, recently appointed to be the first GA stakeholder liaison at the agency’s Office of General Aviation. His directive, says Barnes, is to communicate back to TSA the industry’s concerns and issues. At this meeting, he essentially told the attendees nothing – again under the cover of secrecy. One can only hope that the communication flows a bit more freely when he returns to headquarters.

Thanks for reading. jfi

… and recruits actor Harrison Ford to help spread the good word. The theme – General Aviation Serves America – is a step up from the ‘No Plane No Gain’ campaign relaunched by GAMA and NBAA in February in terms of a message that might stick with a non-aviation audience.

The Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, calling this a “defining moment for general aviation in the United States”, says the mission of the campaign is to promote the benefits of GA to business and communities – particularly to legislators; to offset the negative image which Washington politicos have tagged to business aviation; and, to lobby against new user fees for the industry which the Obama Administration is indicating it will pursue.

Comments AOPA president Craig Fuller, “We have to begin to define who we are and what we do and our value across the country.”

Regarding the ‘No Plane No Gain’ campaign, since its launch NBAA and GAMA have placed television ads in the Washington, D.C. media, had a national story on NPR, and have embraced new media in an effort to get the word out. The campaign has launched a Facebook page, a dedicated YouTube channel, and added a Twitter feed.

On its website (www.noplanenogain.org) is a heading, “Business Aviation serves communities forgotten by airlines,” with associated copy that points out that over 100 cities in the U.S. have experienced a decline in commercial airline service, with 30 communities losing air carrier service entirely. To me, that may be the most important message to be sharing with America. Lobbying Washington is critical, yes; but right now, our industry has a major image problem – to the point that some corporations are curtailing their flight operations for that reason alone.

Either way, it’s positive that the trade groups in D.C. are actively campaigning about the image and the value of GA. One has to wonder, however, why the various GA groups aren’t throwing their dollars into one pool and launching one comprehensive campaign with the additional resources such an integrated effort could bring.

(For more on the AOPA initiative, visit www.aopa.org.)

Thanks for reading. jfi

 I, probably like you, figured that fuel cells—when feasible—would be for small cars and maybe very small airplanes, but certainly not in jumbo jets. Could be we were wrong.

The March 2009 issue of Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine, a publication much respected and admired, included an article titled “Flying Fuel Cells,” in which it was reported that a Super Dimona aircraft was flown using a fuel cell. The Dimona is, of course, a small plane, so how did I leap from there to jumbo jets? The article explained it all.

In the Dimona, the fuel cell ran an electric motor that actually turned the propeller (there was also a battery that helped on takeoff).

But, you might say, jumbo jets don’t even have propellers. Right you are, but Boeing conducted this flight. (The tiny Dimona had “Boeing” painted on the cowl. Talk about something that could cause rumors!) As Boeing points out, a cell that can spin a prop could instead spin a generator that might provide all of the electrical power the jumbo uses.

Currently a small fraction of power from the jet engines and/or an APU is used for generators that run onboard lighting and other systems. Fuel cells would run cleaner and save fuel, which would save weight and thus save even more fuel. The jumbo jet would thus save money and be “greener” as well. That’s a win-win improvement in today’s world. (Just last week cometh from the Wall Street Journal a “News Alert” informing me that the EPA found that “carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a danger to the public, setting the stage for a battle over regulations that could have a far-reaching impact on the U.S. economy.”)

Ah, and, as mentioned before in this BLOG, P&W is working on a geared turbofan (they have already sold some of these engines for future airliners) that will save even more fuel and also lower carbon dioxide emissions.

But wait! There’s more! Engineers at other companies are improving LEDs so that they can replace the lights in airliner interiors and maybe even the landing lights. That would save more fuel which would mean a lighter takeoff which would save even more fuel.

Ain’t the free market wonderful?

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… challenges remain. That’s the word from a panel brought together this week via a webinar sponsored by Air Cargo World and featuring reps from American Airlines, freight forwarders, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

According to the panel, the “low-hanging fruit” – that is, the first 50 percent screening goal – was achieved on schedule in February. To achieve 100 percent screening of cargo in the belly of U.S. airliners by August 2010, they say, better communication between industry and TSA is needed, along with a more streamlined process for bringing new technology online.

Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, says that the TSA goal of screening all cargo on narrow-body U.S. air carriers was achieved without “a lot of heartache”. Moving forward, he calls on Congress to provide appropriate funding and encourages TSA to provide more outreach, more communication. “We also urge Congress to identify real risks,” comments Fried, and to provide “risk-based solutions”.

Asa Hutchinson, a former undersecretary at DHS and the current chairman of the Safe Commerce Coalition, points out that a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report suggests that 100 percent screening could actually make the system less secure. GAO cautions that using available resources on screening everything, even those items that may not pose a risk, could reduce the focus on higher risk shipments. Hutchinson also calls on TSA to keep an eye on international partnerships and to work closely with them in achieving U.S. screening goals – not just regulating with a “heavy hand”, which is how the agency is viewed by some.

Dave Brooks, president of American Airlines Cargo, echoes the panel’s sentiment that to be successful, the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP), as it is called, needs to focus on those shipping the goods. Somebody got the message that it’s a supply chain initiative, says Brooks. He also cautions: “If we fail to comply with this law and don’t give CCSP the opportunity to be fully compliant, shame on us.”

According to TSA, more than 100 facilities have been certified as participants in the CCSP with more than 30 new companies being certified each week. Fried at the Airforwarders Association points out that he currently sees more independent screening companies emerging, which TSA sees as an important component of the overall initiative.

On the subject of technology, Chris Connell, president of Commodity Forwarders Inc., challenges TSA to help industry address the issue of skid-level screening and encourages the expedited integration of new technology. “At least there’s a dialog,” he says, “which is half the battle moving forward.” Regarding his company’s investment in the technology to achieve the TSA goal, Connell comments that “we’re not getting enough return on that investment right now.”

The entire webinar is available at www.aircargoworld.com/screening.

Thanks for reading. jfi

… amidst a financing environment which can be described as cautious at best. Surprisingly, it’s been well attended, which likely reflects the role these folks play in keeping these complex facilities financially sound. The Airport Economics & Finance Conference is hosted by Airports Council International-North America.

The ‘sense’ that one gets is that attendees are here to get a grasp on the reality of the economic climate – the state of shock from the turn of events over the past year has turned to an attitude of, what do we need to do as we move forward? As with most things these days, it’s all about the economics. For airports, it’s also about becoming more and more focused on reducing costs; finding new efficiencies; rethinking capital development programs; and the like. A few of the highlights …

Like many, the industry segment has been hard hit by the paralysis that has occurred within the banking community over the past six months. David Spirakis, managing director for public finance with Bank of America, a leading airport financing player, says there is much uncertainty about which companies will still be players in the airport arena once the dust settles from the economic fallout. There is no longer a “huge oversupply” of banks interested in backing municipal bonds; in fact, the role of banks has been substantially diminished and Spirakis expects that only the top (and diversified) banks will remain in the fray.

David Wyss, a chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, predicts that the current downward spiral of the stock market is coming to an end. However, he explains that historically long bull market cycles are followed by long-term bear markets, and he suggests that we may be headed into such a situation today. He says his “best guess” is that the economy will slowly come out of the recession within six months, with the caveat that a longer recession is a definite possibility.

William Swelbar, a research engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says of the U.S. airline industry, “We have too many seats at too high a cost” for the airlines. Barriers to new entrants are being erected, he says – unstable oil prices; the credit markets; and, a decreased demand which is expected to continue. Swelbar says that the time is here for the airlines to rethink their business model. “The credit issue is going to force the change,” he comments. Efforts in the past year by carriers to cut capacity and increase unit revenues were working, he adds, until recently – evidenced by new fare wars being waged.

The complete conference report will be featured in the upcoming issue of AIRPORT BUSINESS magazine.

Thanks for reading. jfi

My first airline ride was in 1964. I rode several genav airplanes before that, and even jumped out of a few, but never before had I ridden an airline. Since then the airlines have taken me from coast to coast, border to border, from Hawaii to Alaska and a few foreign countries.

In my mind, I had seen it all. Wrong.

Recently wife Gail and I got up early in Boston, drove to Hartford, and flew back home to TN. At six that morning—before we had even left the motel in Boston—Delta called with a recorded message. Our 10 a.m. flight from Hartford was canceled and we had been rebooked on a 1 p.m. flight. No big surprise there, it messed up our schedule, but, hey, stuff happens, you know?

The big surprise came at Hartford.

We got the new booking all straightened out, then learned from the schedule board that our original flight was scheduled to leave on time, at 10 a.m. We asked the man at the counter and he was—shall we say—far less than interested, much less helpful.

We got to the gate of the new flight very early, and guess what—our original flight was leaving right on time at the very next gate. We tried to get on, but no dice. It was full.

We gave up, went back to the new gate and unloaded on the gate agent, Tim Williams. Now Tim was a class act. He went far out of his way to bend over backward and make up for the mess. He almost made us happy.

The next day I called Delta’s media department and got a super-nice lady. I wrote her name down but cannot now find it. I apologize.

She found the truth and relayed it. Delta had indeed called us to announce that the flight was canceled. Then they found a substitute airplane, so the flight was back on. Unfortunately, Delta failed to recontact us with that info. By the time I hung up, this lady almost had me in a good mood again.

Still, we got home very late that day through no fault of our own. And to paraphrase Brother Dave Gardner, that, dear hearts, is the reason that we, and thousands like us, now drive far more often than we used to.

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