AircraftOwner Online

In this month's Pilot, What's Your Story?, Ev Lake shared his dismay with the encroaching obsolescence of his instruments and the cost to the average aviator:
 
    "I have a concern about the future of aviation for those of us that use an older aircraft that may have a selling price of about $60,000.00 or less. Some of us feel a strong pressure to replace our ‘entry level avionics’ with very capable expensive avionics. The pressure comes from the decommissioning of many VOR and NDB navaids as more GPS based approaches are added. The loss of the VOR and NDB approaches makes it more difficult to justify a used Skyhawk, Warrior, etc. for a small business and/ or personal travel. But, it is difficult to justify spending $12,000.00 or more to install a WAAS capable GPS receiver in an older aircraft. (NextGen will likely be even more difficult to justify.)
    Certainly this pressure to use expensive equipment must drive the cost for training upwards. A $250,000.00 glass cockpit aircraft must be more expensive for private pilot certificate training than a $60,000.00 ‘steam gage’ aircraft. That cost is bound to discourage many potential students from even taking an introductory ride."
 
Pilots: what are your feelings about this? Do you share Ev's concerns?
Sound off below.

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Hope is on the horizon. The airline industry is starting to climb out of the recession, but it could be years before business travel returns to its pre-recession level, if it ever does. Pre-recession, business travel was the most important growth segment for passenger airlines. Unfortunately, the recession forced frequent corporate travelers to adopt less expensive telecommunication strategies. While a mild increase in business travel is anticipated as the recession eases, few analysts expect a return to "the glory days."

The decline of business travel is just one of many pressures forcing change in the airline industry. FBO managers report a decline in customer loyalty directly related to the recession. Cash-strapped aircraft operators shop around for FBOs willing to offer a better price. As reported in our October 19 post, some airlines are taking their maintenance and repair business to foreign FBOs to take advantage of cheap labor.

To survive FBOs will need to provide more services at a better value - do more with less. It's the same problem most U.S. businesses are struggling with these days. Lindy's versatile, ergonomically-designed aircraft tugs allow FBOs to maximize their use of employees while minimizing the number of employees needed to keep operations running smoothly.

Some interesting and creative solutions to improving airline industry revenues are popping up. In Columbus, Ohio, Port Columbus officials recently entered into a five-year pact with 10 airlines guaranteeing them a share of airport revenues in exchange for maintaining and improving services for Columbus travelers and shippers. The Columbus Regional Airport Authority agreed to hold down costs on rent, landing fees and other airline charges. Cooperative partnerships like this could be the wave of the future.

When new federal aviation cargo screening rules go into effect next August, the resulting chaos could ground thousands of tons of cargo (see our Dec. 2 post). Both the feds and the aviation industry are worried that there won't be enough trained screeners or certified screening facilities to handle the job. An expansion of the current law that requires the individual screening of passenger suitcases, the new regulations will exact the same screening standards for each and every parcel shipped on cargo or passenger airplanes. With 500,000 boxes flying the friendly U.S. skies each and every day, the potential for chaos is obvious.

Unless some smart Congressman gets on the ball soon, the new regs will mean that goods now typically shipped in huge lots on shrink-wrapped pallets will have to be broken down into individual packages for screening, then reassembled. Fortunately, the law allows certified facilities to scan cargo packages offsite, as long as secure delivery can be provided to the airplane. But pallets will still have to be broken down for individual scanning and goods transported to and from the scanner. Sounds like a lot of tedious, back-breaking work - unless you employergonomically-designed tugs like DJ Products CartCaddys.

Made by Lindbergh Aircraft Tug Co.'s parent company ;DJ Products, CartCaddys move cargo boxes the same way Lindy's Aircraft Tugs move airplanes - quickly and easily. Compact design and a unique 180-degree pivoting capability allow powered CartCaddys to maneuver in tight spaces. Ergonomic design means that like Lindy's aircraft tractors, DJ Products' electric carts and tugs take the burden off workers. With screeners handling thousands of packages a day, protecting their health and safety from potentially disabling musculoskeletal injury will be a major concern.

If you feel a logistical nightmare coming on, you've probably read about the new federal aviation cargo screening rules scheduled to go into effect in August 3, 2010. In just 8 short months all freight shipped aboard commercial airlines will have to be screened for bombs just like suitcases are screened now. Federal and aviation industry officials are becoming more than a little concerned that a lack of screeners will ground thousands of tons of cargo.

Sending an airplane into the sky is an expensive proposition. It's common practice to stuff airplane cargo holds as full as possible to maximize cost efficiency. There's no profit in flying empty space! As many as half a million boxes or 10 million pounds of cargo are shipped on U.S. passenger planes every day - almost none of it scrutinized by security. And therein lies the problem - and the risk.

Shipping cargo is an important revenue source for airlines, FOB operations and the entire network of companies that provide support services to the airline industry. Requiring that every item of cargo placed in an airplane be inspected by an as yet non-existent security force has the potential to be a huge problem. In cities across the country, shippers are currently meeting with federal transportation authorities to review certification requirements in the hopes of creating, training and implementing a security force, procedures and facilities before the August deadline.

The issue presenting the biggest problem is that federal law requires that each item be individually screened by a human, x-ray machine, explosive-detecting equipment or trained dogs. The law is an obvious mismatch for current shipping practices which prepackages freight on pallets. At least the law doesn't require cargo items to be screened at the airport as luggage is. The TSA is permitted to certify private firms to screen cargo at any point in the shipping process as long as secure delivery is provided to airlines.

Next time: CartCaddys to the rescue!

Despite current problems, European commercial aircraft builder Airbus predicted a rising global market for the airline industry over the next 20 years. Reported in the Wall Street Journal online, the French-based aeronautic manufacturer predicted demand for 25,000 new aircraft worth $3.1 trillion over the next two decades, an annual passenger traffic growth rate of 4.9%. The world's biggestaircraft manufacturer, Airbus expects airline manufacturing growth to come from emerging economies,airline expansion,discount carriers and replacement of aging airplanes.

As WSJ points out, the new prediction represents a 2.9% increase over the 24,300 planes/$2.8 trillion market prediction Airbus made just 19 months ago in February 2008. That's good news for the aviation industry. If airline manufacturers are starting to see light at the end of the recession's bleak, black tunnel, an industry turnaround can’t be too far off in the future. Don't look for blue skies yet though. Airbus expects the current passenger traffic retraction (pegged at 2% in 2009) to continue through the end of this year before a gradual expansion (Airbus predicts 4.6%) begins in 2010. Of course, for the first couple of years we'll just be climbing back up to previous norms. But in the long term, airline travel and the myriad businesses and people it supports is expected to recover and prosper.

Airbus expects even greater and faster growth in airline cargo traffic as businesses ramp back up to fill restocking orders and meet increasing customer demand, particularly in developing countries. Airbus predicts 5.2% average annual growth in cargo traffic over the next 20 years requiring 3,440 additional air freighters. While most of these freighters are expected to be passenger jet conversions, a need for 850 new aircraft is predicted.

Airbus' predictions mean a lot of airplanes are going to need to be pushed around hangers and airports in the future. Lindy's aircraft tugs and aircraft tractorswill ensure that you're ready to meet the challenges of the future.

Pundits are calling it the "Silver Tsunami." It's the graying of the American work force. Today, 19% of American workers are age 55 or older. By 2016, that number will climb to 25%, according to a recent survey by the independent Pew Research Group. America's most numerous generation, Baby Boomers are pushing retirement back and working longer. The reasons are numerous:

 

• Better healthcare has extended the average U.S. lifespan to 78, and many Americans are living into their 80s (the country's fastest growing demographic) and even 90s.
• Many retirees bored with retirement are returning to work part-time and even full-time or are seeking second careers.
• Loss of retirement investment value and savings during the recent recession has forced many older Americans to push retirement back by a number of years. They simply can't afford to quit working.

With fewer young workers moving up from the next generation to replace aging workers, businesses can't afford to lose the experience and knowledge older workers bring to the table. Adopting ergonomic practices and utilizing ergonomic equipment will be key to accommodating America's aging work force and essential to avoiding age-discrimination suits.

As bodies age they lose strength and flexibility. Ergonomically-designed equipment like Lindy's AircraftCaddys is designed to remove physical effort from common tasks such as transporting aircraft at airports, FBO, corporate and private air fields and ground operations. Like all carefully designed ergonomic equipment, Lindy's aircraft tugs and plane tows reduce the risk of injury that can occur while performing pushing, pulling, lifting and transporting tasks.

Lindy's aircraft tows and aircraft tractors allow a single individual to easily move aircraft up to 35,000 pounds. Ergonomic design eliminates back aches and muscle strains that can injure and disable airline and FBO workers of any age and particularly older workers. Lindy's ergonomically designed airplane tugs allows older workers to perform ground control tasks with the same ease as younger, stronger, more agile workers.

"Recession Is Over" headlines blared last week. After analyzing key economic data for August, the nation's top economists assigned the most severe recession since the Great Depression to history. A 12.8% annual increase in the index of leading indicators over the past three months led economic analysts to proclaim that the "contraction" has ended. For the first time in 19 months manufacturing indicators rose, led by a surge of new orders. August also saw a slowdown in the job-loss rate, although unemployment continued to rise in about half of the country's major metropolitan areas.

However, pronouncements of the recession's end were quickly tempered by cautionary statements that recovery will take time, possibly years. And don't expect things to return to the way they were. The depth of the recession and the unsustainability of the inflated economy that preceded it are forcing America to recalibrate. No one's sure what the new "normal" will look like, but changes are coming.

So what does this mean for the aviation industry? With money tight, savings decimated and jobs on the line, Americans have been traveling less. In August, American Airlines reported an 8.1% decrease in traffic, and United's traffic was down 5.8%. As demand has declined, major carriers have reduced seat capacity. In August, American’s capacity dropped 9.4%; United’s fell 8.9%. International carriers which draw from a greater passenger pool have experienced less loss. Continental Airlines reported a 3.9% decline in August traffic resulting in a 6% reduction in seat capacity.

On the plus side, offering passengers fewer flight choices has increased load factors, or number of filled seats per plane, allowing major carriers to operate more efficiently. American's load factor rose from 83.5% to 84.7%, and United's load factor increased from 84.3% to 87.2% over the past year. Continental reported record load factors.