Hollering Bach

Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

Aviation has been in the news a lot lately. This week’s tragic Air France crash, the Colgan crash in Buffalo, several private-aircraft crashes, and the bone-headed Air Force One photo stunt. Before that, there was a general anti-aviation hysteria around the nation, fueled by the Three Stooges (the CEOs of the Detroit Three automakers) who opted to fly to Washington, D.C. to beg Congress for bailout funds to save their companies. Lawmakers quickly seized on the fact each had traveled to D.C. on board his own corporate plane — for the same meeting, and from the same airport — to ask for a $25 billion loan. While one could argue that business jets have never been lovingly embraced by the public at large, the image of corporate fatcats traveling on lavish private aircraft became harder to combat when you read about a stunt like that.

Of course, the fact most of the same lawmakers who criticized those CEOs also travel on private jets — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who commutes from her California home to D.C. on a government-supplied Boeing 757 — was not widely publicized. How convenient.

As a pilot, I feel that general aviation (all aviation that’s not commercial or military) has been unfairly beaten up — even victimized by misinformation and prejudice. So let me set a few details straight.

General Aviation (GA) is an economic engine that pumps $150 billion into the United States economy each year. In local communities, it brings outside business in, and lets local businesses extend their reach. It provides services to all Americans through law enforcement, medevac, and other emergency services operations, as well as aiding relief efforts in times of disaster.

Some 1.2 million people work at general aviation companies. Especially at this time of severe economic troubles, it makes no sense to harm a sector that’s vital to our economy. It’s one of the few remaining industries that maintains a positive balance of trade — with nearly 44% of the country’s total 2007 production of $13 billion worth of aircraft exported. In 2008, U.S. GA airplane manufacturers delivered over 3,079 airplanes to customers in the United States and abroad.

A company’s decision to use business aviation for any mission depends on a variety of factors, including availability of commercial service in the departing or arrival destinations, the number of sites to be visited in a single day, the number of employees traveling, the need to discuss proprietary matters en route, the need to move specialized equipment, and a host of other considerations. The following list details some of the primary reasons companies use GA as a solution to some of their transportation challenges.

• Accessing communities with little or no airline service. Business aviation serves ten times the number of communities (more than 5,000 airports) served by commercial airlines (about 500 airports) This means business aviation can allow companies to locate plants or facilities in small towns or rural communities with little or no commercial airline service. Since nearly 100 communities have lost airline service in the past year, this is particularly important.
• Reaching multiple destinations quickly and efficiently. Companies that need to reach multiple destinations in a single day may elect to use business aviation, because that type of mission could be hard or impossible to complete with other modes of transportation.
• Supporting the travel needs of many types of company employees. An NBAA survey revealed that 72% of passengers aboard business airplanes are non-executive employees. Companies often send teams of employees to a given destination because it is the most cost-effective means of transport.
• Moving equipment. When companies need to immediately move sensitive or critical equipment, business aviation is often the best solution.
• Ensuring flexibility. Business people don’t always know in advance where or when opportunities will present themselves. In today’s business environment, companies need to be nimble enough to move quickly. Business aviation provides flexibility for companies that need to ensure employees can respond to changing demands and circumstances.
• Increasing employee productivity and providing security. Business aviation is a productivity tool — when traveling aboard business aircraft, employees can meet, plan, and work en route. Business aviation also allows employees to discuss proprietary information in a secure environment and without fear of eavesdropping, industrial espionage, or physical threat.
• Keeping in contact. Many aircraft have technologies that allow employees to remain in communication throughout the duration of their flight. This can be critical for companies managing a rapidly changing situation.
• Providing a return to shareholders. Studies have found that businesses which use business aviation as a solution to some of their transportation challenges return more to shareholders than companies in the same industry that do not use business aviation.
• Schedule predictability. Over 3% of all commercial airline flights are cancelled. Nearly one quarter are delayed. Today, because of record load factors on commercial airlines, if your flight is cancelled or a delay causes you to miss your connection, the odds of you getting on the next flight are significantly reduced. When the future of a company and its employees depends on you arriving on time, business aviation is an important tool.

So, it’s clear that GA is essential to tens of thousands of companies of all types and sizes in the U.S. that are trying to compete in a marketplace that, more than ever, demands speed, flexibility, efficiency, and productivity. The vast majority of these companies — 85% — are small and mid-size businesses, many of which are based in the dozens of markets across the country where the airlines have reduced or eliminated service. So before we start another public flogging of the industry, let’s keep these facts in mind.

Finally! My blog is up. Better late than (if?) ever. Why so long in the making? Well, our esteemed new president said it best: “I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak” (when asked why, after being informed of the AIG bonuses, he had waited several days to inform the public).

So here, I’ll be writing about the stuff that excites me: the technologies that underlie social networks and media — so things like Facebook apps, widgets, RIAs in the social context and the tools that create them (esp. Flex, AJAX techniques, Silverlight, and JavaFX), social video, social games, RSS, various APIs, and whatever else sounds interesting and useful.

Looking forward to everyone’s comments and to exploring a hugely interesting and dynamic space.