Professional Aviation Organizations

Belonging to an aviation organization, whether you are employed or not, is a very helpful networking tool in the industry. I often hear my fellow students talking about Alpha Eta Rho and how the fraternity has been able to do so much and go so many places. Too often, people don’t join organizations primarily because of the invested time you need to be involved, and the fees associated. However, professional organizations as you become involved within the aviation field as an active employee can create even more opportunities for your professional future. I am not a member of Alpha Eta Rho, and it is probably my biggest regret while being an aviation student here at Eastern. Networking is the single most powerful marketing tactic to accelerate and sustain success for any individual or organization. Relationships are the catalyst for success. People do business with those they like and trust. Serve as a resource, help others succeed. Networking provides the most productive, most proficient and most enduring tactic to build relationships. To succeed you must continually connect with new people, cultivate emerging relationships and leverage your network (SBN, 2011).

According to Embry-Riddle’s website, there is a generous list of various different organizations a professional aviation member, enthusiast, or what-have-you. The list ranges from mechanics, to business administrators, to pilots (Professional Organizations, 2015). One of the professional organizations I found on that particular list to be of an interest to me was the National Weather Association. The National Weather Association hosts scholarships and grants, events, produces publications like the Journal of Operational Meteorology, Electronic Journal, Newsletter, and Digest, and has a special section on their websites for jobs. As a current aspiring dispatcher, weather is an active part of that field; as is with the entire aviation field. Straight from their website, the National Weather Association explains what they’re all about: “The NWA is a member-led, all inclusive, 501(c)6 non-profit, professional association supporting and promoting excellence in operational meteorology and related activities since 1975. Members have many opportunities to share information, news, studies and concerns related to operational meteorology and related activities through committee work, submitting correspondence or articles to NWA publications such as the Newsletter and the Journal of Operational Meteorology, making presentations or leading workshops at the Annual Meetings, helping to maintain and add information to the NWA website, and to network with great people in a wide variety of careers (from well-known senior professionals to weather enthusiasts). Members join together on many outreach education/training initiatives to students, users of weather information, and the general public. Members also have the opportunity to volunteer for many leadership positions in the organization. Weather Broadcasters have the opportunity to earn the NWA Radio and Television Weathercaster Seals of Approval. The NWA also sponsors an Annual Awards program to recognize excellence, college scholarships, grants to K-12 teachers and other programs. Membership fees provide full voting membership, monthly NWA Newsletters, Journal of Operational Meteorology articles, reduced registration fees at NWA Annual Meetings and much more” (National Weather Association, 2015).

Following the NWA, I found the Airline Dispatchers Federation. The Airline Dispatchers Federation is the only national organization representing the professional interests of the dispatch profession. ADF's constituency is comprised of licensed aircraft dispatchers and operational control professionals from 100 aerospace companies including every major U.S. airline. ADF's membership at the end of 2009 stood at 1500 members.  It has been estimated that approximate 92% of airline passengers traveling each day in the United States, do so under the watchful eye of ADF members. The ADF is an all-volunteer organization (all working dispatchers) and in accordance with our bylaws is an advocacy organization for working dispatchers and not a labor organization (Dispatcher, 2014).

Moreover, I discovered an organization called Aviation Health. Health Aviation Health (AH) was founded in 1996 by Farrol Kahn at the suggestion of Professor Sir David Weatherall, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford. The AH is the world's first independent non-profit body dealing with aviation health issues. Registered Company No. 5421929. It has three aims, research, education and prevention. The first medical director was Air Commondore A.N. Nicholson, Commandant of the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, who was seconded by the Ministry of Defense. The Director is Farrol Kahn, who is a medical author and has written several books on aviation medicine and health. The objectives of the AH are to investigate the effects of flying on the health of passengers and on the course of common diseases; to promote awareness and prevention of such conditions, so as to increase the productivity of frequent flyers. They provide an invaluable, independent source of reference, information and comment on aviation health issues. It also encourages airlines and passengers to take action to address the problems. AH is concerned with four public health issues. It also promotes appropriate preventative measures such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), air quality in-flight, cosmic radiation, and in-flight medical incidents (Aviation Health, n.d.).

Lastly, while searching for professional organizations within aviation, I found Business Aviation Network, which is “the largest aviation social network.” Essentially, BAN is similar to Facebook and LinkedIn, where members can discuss events, publish blogs, and network with one another. “Our mission is to provide our membership opportunities to build networks and professional and personal relationships through this web site, our groups on LinkedIn and through local gatherings. As a BAN member, you will become part of a dynamic community of individuals with a vested interest in business aviation who are committed to the success of not only their businesses, but the success of others within our organization. We welcome Business jet and aircraft manufacturers, sales professionals, aircraft dealers, charter operators, aircraft fractional and jet card ownership programs, air taxis, FBO, corporate pilots. We invite members from all aspects of the business aviation industry to participate” (Mission Statement, 2015).

In today’s world, networking via online pathways is an essential tool to stay actively involved within the industry. I think if people are very involved in the aviation field, this would be a good website to build relationships and gain networks.

Overall, it is an important task to be involved in professional organizations and networks throughout the aviation industry. There are a wide-variety of organizations to choose from, no matter what pathway you choose within the industry.

References

Dispatcher. (2014). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.dispatcher.org/about-adf

Mission Statement. (2015). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://ban.aero/about-business-aviation-network/business-aviation-network-mission-statement

National Weather Association. (2015). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.nwas.org/about.php

Professional Organizations Career Services. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://careerservices.erau.edu/opportunities/networking/professional-organizations/

Strategic Business Network (SBN). (2011). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.strategicbusinessnetwork.com/about/importance

Aviation-health.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2015, from http://www.aviation-health.org/

The Business of Aviation

“How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a very large fortune.” This phrase is relevant today because in order to create a multi-billion dollar company, you have to pump billions and billions of dollars into a start-up airline that may have a high-risk level in this industry. It isn’t easy to start an airline. You need a thorough business plan, accountants, lawyers, auditors, etc. Malaysian Airlines is an example of an airline that continues to dwindle down to a “failing” airline, mainly because of public relations matters. Without a doubt, the crash of MH17 and the disappearance of MH370, both in 2014, didn’t help Malaysian Airlines’ reputation.  This goes to show that the public and media has a very powerful manipulation mechanism that can lead to a company’s downfall. According to an article from Fast Company, analyst Mohshin Aziz said, "In the current form, I firmly believe Malaysia Airlines won’t be able to survive. They will largely exhaust all their capital and won't have any money left to continue flying by the middle of next year." The airline was already dealing with its share of adversity even before last week's attack. CNN Money reports that even before MH370 disappeared, "a difficult business climate forced the airline into the red for three years in a row," leading to a loss of $1.3 billion over that time period. The airline is expected to pay the families of victims of both crashes an initial payment of $150,000 each, per international law (Gayomali, 2014).

On the other hand, one of the most successful airlines of our time is Delta Airlines. However, just because a business is successful, doesn’t mean it hasn’t gone through a downfall, and Delta is an example of that. Before it sought bankruptcy protection in 2005, Delta had revenue per available seat mile that was 86% of the industry average. By the first quarter of 2007, Delta executives were pleased to proclaim that RASM (revenue per available seat mile) was 96% of the industry average (RASM, n.d.). The carrier emerged from bankruptcy protection on April 30, 2007.  While all of the major airline bankruptcies in the first decade and a half of the 21^st century have been successful, enabling the carriers to profitably restructure, Delta’s was probably the most uniquely successful. As for Delta, it used bankruptcy to remake itself. Delta has one of U.S. airline industry’s best assets: the Atlanta hub, the biggest single airline hub in the world.  Before the bankruptcy, Atlanta was squandered, used largely to connect passengers between the Northeast and Florida – a leisure market with little potential to provide revenue premiums. Now Atlanta has 970 daily departures to 210 destinations including 62 international destinations.  Overall, Delta serves 59 countries (Reed, 2014).

There are a handful of currently growing airline companies that continue to profit. According to Terry Maxon, a frequent aviation contributor on the Dallas Morning News’ website, U.S. carriers make up nearly half of the list of the most profitable airline companies. Two low-cost U.S. airlines, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air, rank second and third. Regional carrier Republic Airways is fourth, and Alaska Airlines is sixth (Maxon, 2014).

Rank	Best	Margin
1	Copa (Panama)	22%
2	Spirit (U.S.)	18%
3	Allegiant (U.S.)	16%
4	Republic (U.S.)	16%
5	Ryanair (Ireland)	15%
6	Alaska (U.S.)	14%
7	Japan Airlines (Japan)	12%
8	Aegean (Greece)	12%
9	Hainan Airlines (China)	12%
10	Delta (U.S.)	11%
11	easyJet (U.K)	11%
12	WestJet (Canada)	11%
13	Southwest (U.S.)	11%
14	American (U.S.)	10%
15	Air Arabia (United Arab Emirates)	10%
Rank	Worst	Margin
1	Pakistan Int’l (Pakistan)	-27%
2	SpiceJet (India)	-16%
3	Jet Airways (India)	-9%
4	Malaysia Airlines (Malaysia)+	-8%
5	Tigerair (Singapore)	-8%
6	Thai Airways (Thailand)	-7%
7	AirAsia X (Malaysia)	-7%
8	Skymark (Japan)	-6%
9	Garuda (Indonesia)	-6%
10	Air Berlin (Germany)	-6%
11	Philippine Airlines (Philippines)	-4%
12	Volaris (Mexico)	-3%
13	Virgin Australia (Australia)	-3%
14	Kenya Airways (Kenya)	-3%
15	Norwegian (Ireland)	-2%

Getting an airline off the ground has become a lot more treacherous. High oil prices these days mean carriers must fly full planes to turn a profit, and smaller airports just do not provide enough passenger traffic. At the same time, the major domestic carriers are more entrenched than ever in their own hub airports, making it harder for a new entrant to wrangle gates there. And investors have become more cautious about lending to just any airline. “Why would you ever want to start a new airline?” asked Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant with the Boyd Group International. “The business is very capital-intensive, the returns are rotten and the track record is terrible. Plus, there’s simply no market for a new carrier today” (Mouawad, 2012). However, there are some guidelines to starting up an airlines. To create an airline or aviation business (or improve an airline, for that matter), it’s imperative to form an accurate business plan. The following is a start-up outline plan for an airline:

-Provision of a sufficient cash reserve to assure timely payment of the leasing or finance payments and operating costs of the aircraft through at least the first six months of operations.

-Marketing, advertising, and public relations costs, including costs of setting up a website capable of offering flight and fare information and making online sales and reservations, and related Internet marketing, as well as conventional print and broadcast advertising, and public relations activities.

-Costs associated with recruiting, training, and certifying flight and ground operational crews.

-A reserve to cover overall operating costs, aside from aircraft operating costs, over at least the first six months of operations.

-Administrative and legal costs incurred in setting up the business and the airline operations (Airline Business Plans, n.d.).

Although it’s a cliché joke, “How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a very large fortune” is a pretty accurate phrase in reference to starting up a successful airline.

References

Airline Business Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015.

Gayomali, C. (2014, July 24). Will Malaysia Airlines Go Out Of Business? Retrieved March 30, 2015.

Maxon, T. (2014, September 20). Seven U.S. carriers among the world's most profitable airlines. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

Mouawad, J. (2012, May 25). The Challenge of Starting an Airline. Retrieved March 31, 2015.

Reed, T. (2014, May 10). How Delta Air Lines Mapped A Path To Success And Followed It. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

What is revenue per available seat mile (RASM)? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2015.

Global Aviation and the Global Market

The aviation industry is one of the biggest contributing factors of the overall economic market. These are just some of the global factors I think will continue to shape this industry boom over the next 15-20 years.

There are many areas of the global aviation market in which US commercial airlines have grown exponentially since the last aviation market dip. One of these areas includes the growing competition of carriers in the Middle East. The Middle East has been leading the way with global aviation growth. Middle East airlines claimed the strongest passenger growth worldwide in the latest data revealed by the global aviation industry body. Traffic for Middle East carriers jumped 11.7 per cent in November, from a year earlier, the International Air Transport Association said. Globally, international passenger demand advanced 5.4 per cent in November, compared with a year earlier. All regions except Africa saw a year-over-year increase in demand. However, growth had slowed in most regions compared with October of 2014 (El Gazzar, 2015).

Moreover, as the global price of oil continues to drop, you would think that airlines all over the globe would see a generous boost for the aviation market. However, Only U.S. airlines are reaching the level of profitability that allows them to recover the cost of capital. The airline industry is forecast to benefit significantly from the drop in fuel prices, and part of the improvements will be passed on to consumers in the form of significantly lower fares. The association believes airlines will make a combined profit of $25 billion in 2015, up from $19.9 billion this year, $10.6 billion in 2013 and $6.1 billion in 2012. “We see falling oil prices to give a great boost both to the industry and consumers,” said IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce (Flottau, 2014). On the other hand, with lower fuel prices comes less efficient aircraft maintaining operation. “As a result of falling fuel prices, aircraft fuel efficiency improvements will slow down from 1.8% in 2014 to 1.6%. This is because less fuel efficient aircraft are still in operation” (Flottau, 2014).

Globalization in manufacturing also plays a big part in non-leveled playing field. With faster growing markets, fierce competition arises. When people think about manufacturing aircraft, they think of Boeing, Airbus, or Lockheed Martin. China is on an aggressive course to build a world-class commercial aviation manufacturing base. Mexico continues as an important supplier to the North American industry. But which companies will supply the new aircraft? “In Boeing’s latest outlook, the world will see demand for 35,280 new jet aircraft from 2013–2032 at a value of $4.8 trillion, with single-aisle aircraft accounting for most of that demand. (Globalization, 2015). Below is a graph that depicts aircraft demand by region for the years 2013-2032:

Finally, while researching the topic of labor costs for this blog, I came across the American Airlines’ approved contract that was voted two-thirds in favor of a new five-year contract that gives them 23 percent pay raises this year and 3 percent pay raises on Jan. 1 for the next five years. “By voting in favor of the JCBA, our pilots will benefit from higher pay rates. In effect, the pilots of American Airlines made a business decision,” Keith Wilson, Allied Pilots Association president said in a statement” (Maxon, January 12, 2015). APA will now focus on further engagement with American Airlines management to address ongoing shortcomings in our contract. Our total compensation will still trail industry-leader Delta, while work rules affecting our pilots’ quality of life need meaningful improvement. There’s a lot of work remaining to achieve the industry-leading contract our pilots deserve,” Wilson said. The decision avoids a scenario in which the Allied Pilots Association contract combining US Airways and American Airlines pilots under a single agreement would have gone to binding arbitration (Maxon, January 30, 2015). A "no" vote would have sent the pilots and management to binding arbitration, which would have capped wage gains to zero percent for December 2014, 3 percent for January and an extra 13 percent a year later, per an agreement that the pilots union had accepted during the merger (Dastin, 2015).

Overall, I agree with most of these findings from the writers of the articles, which is why I used them as sources. Obviously, there are a great deal of things to consider in order to level the playing field when it comes to growth of the aviation market. The aviation industry is one of the biggest contributing factors of the global economic market. It has a number of factors going into the growth of the latest industry boom, including the various different factors I have researched above. I believe we can make this a level playing field by allowing countries to grow and compete healthfully alongside large U.S. carriers, like American or Delta. If oil continues to drop, it may have an up-and-down effect on the global market as it is now. Raising the pay for pilots, not just in the U.S. but all over, can have a great impact on the job outlook for many future pilots. I think larger pay is playing a big role in capturing a prospective pilot’s eye. These are just some of the global factors I think will continue to shape this industry boom over the next 15-20 years.

References

Dastin, J., & Ajmera, A. (2015, January 30). American Airlines Group pilots approve contract to
            raise pay. Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/30/us-
            american-airline-workers-idUSKBN0L31XC20150130

El Gazzar, S. (2015, January 8). Middle East carriers lead global aviation growth. Retrieved
            March 16, 2015, from http://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/middle-east-carriers-
            lead-global-aviation-growth

Flottau, J. (2014, December 10). As Oil Price Falls IATA Sees Steep Profit Rise, Traffic Increase
            In 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-
            aviation/oil-price-falls-iata-sees-steep-profit-rise-traffic-increase-2015

Globalization of aircraft manufacturing: New markets, new players. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17,
            2015, from http://www.pwc.com/us/en/industrial-products/commercial-aircraft-industry-
            future/globalization-new-markets-and-manufacturers.jhtml

Maxon, T. (2015, January 12). American Airlines says proposed pilot contract would raise its
            2015 costs by $650 million. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from
            http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/01/american-airlines-says-proposed-pilot-
            contract-would-raise-its-2015-costs-by-650-million.html/  

Maxon, T. (2015, January 30). American Airlines pilots approve new contract, with nearly two
            thirds in favor. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from
            http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2015/01/american-airlines-pilots-approve-new-   contract-66-34.html/

UAVs

In the United States, civilian drones have become popular within recent years and are available at stores for purchase to the public. Mostly, civilian UAVs are being used for recreational purposes such as independent film making, skyline footage, and even environmental surveys. According to National Geographic, civilian use of drones include hurricane hunting, 3D mapping, wildlife protection, agriculture, and search and rescue (Carroll, 2013). Recently, there was a YouTube video of a drone flying over a volcano to give a never-before-seen view of an erupting volcano. For the most part, civilian use of drones- whether being used by companies or for private use- has been seen as a useful and unique way to gather images (Handwerk, 2013). However, there are places where civilian drones are illegal for use without some type of permit or certificate, and are illegal over certain areas and have limits on nighttime. France is currently battling a civilian drone issue during nighttime hours over historic landmarks in Paris, which is illegal (Whittaker, 2015). In the United States, the FAA issued requirements for civilian model aircraft as follows:

The aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;   The aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;
The aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;
The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft;
And when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower with prior notice of the operation (Model Aircraft , 2014).

Moreover, I personally do not see UAVs being integrated in the NAS in the near future, but that doesn’t mean they will never be. However, there is a project being designed by NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the NAS. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives. The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. Within the project, NASA is focusing on five sub-projects. “These five focus areas include assurance of safe separation of unmanned aircraft from manned aircraft when flying in the national airspace; safety-critical command and control systems and radio frequencies to enable safe operation of UAS; human factors issues for ground control stations; airworthiness certification standards for UAS avionics and integrated tests and evaluation designed to determine the viability of emerging UAS technology” (Dunbar, 2014). I see many problems resulting from this. The NAS is already intensely congested and to put small UAVs, some of which are as small as birds, could cause obvious problems. This isn’t to say that there wouldn’t be any benefit from integrating UAVs into the NAS, but I think it’s going to take a great amount of time to fully accomplish a high level of safety for all aircraft integrated within the system. There also needs to be collaboration with ATC, FAA, the public, the airlines, and military in order to make integration of UAVs in the NAS practical and safe.

In addition to UAVs, the military has been seen as the forefront for unmanned aircraft, particularly in the Middle East. Proponents say that drones have decimated terrorist networks abroad via precise strikes with minimal civilian casualties. They contend that drones are relatively inexpensive weapons, are used under proper government oversight, and that their use helps prevent "boots on the ground" combat and makes America safer (Drones, 2014). With that being said, drone strikes can be seen as unethical and a violation of International Law. “They contend that drone strikes kill large numbers of civilians, violate international law, lack sufficient congressional oversight, violate the sovereignty of other nations, and make the horrors of war appear as innocuous as a video game” (Drones, 2014). Personally, I believe drones in military use is a matter of personal opinion when it comes to being ethical or unethical. It is a political issue, and you will have that with war. However, when it comes to military strategy, drones are operating in a way more precisely than what a manned jet may be able to, and it prevents pilots from getting into a potentially, extremely hazardous area. Overall, despite ethical issues, I do believe that the integration of drones for military use has been efficient.

Finally, I have found a Project Manager position for Textron Systems: Unmanned Systems. “Textron Systems businesses are industry leading developers and integrators of unmanned systems, advanced marine craft, armored vehicles, intelligent battlefield and surveillance systems, geospatial management and analysis systems, intelligence software solutions, precision weapons, piston engines, test and training systems, and total lifecycle sustainment and operational services. Textron Systems’ businesses consist of Advanced Information Solutions, Electronic Systems, Geospatial Solutions, Lycoming Engines, Marine & Land Systems, Support Solutions, Unmanned Systems, Weapon & Sensor Systems and TRU Simulation + Training.

Responsible and accountable for the management, budget and schedule performance for part of a development, product or logistics program or a single, previously developed and mature program with a well-defined program plan and delivery methodologies. Typically serves a single internal customer with minor or no external customer contact” (Textron, 2015).

References

Carroll, J. (2013, June 7). Five ways UAVs are being used by civilians. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2013/06/five-ways-uavs-are-being-used-by-civilians.html

Drones. (2014, August 11). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://drones.procon.org/#background

Dunbar, B. (2014, February 28). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-075-DFRC.html#.VO9hUHzF_DZ

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 2). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/

Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. (2014, June 18). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/model_aircraft_spec_rule.pdf

Textron (2015, February 4). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from https://textron.taleo.net/careersection/textron/jobdetail.ftl?job=232597&lang=en&src=JB-10146

Whittaker, F. (2015, February 25). Mysterious Drones Seen Hovering Above Paris Landmarks For Two Nights Running. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.buzzfeed.com/franciswhittaker/mysterious-drones-seen-hovering-above-paris-landmarks-for-2?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpgc#.ghQ09wewN

Corporate Aviation

Corporate aviation, or business aviation, is believed to save a company money based upon the argument of “time is money.” Assuming the corporate businesses that are using corporate aviation are financially well-off and has a series of constant cash flows to sustain their company, I do believe that corporate aviation departments save a company money. According to a Forbes article “Business aviation and the unfair advantage,” the writer makes valid points about how corporate aviation saves companies time and money. “Companies are taking to heart the old adage “time is money” as they seek increased productivity and profitability, while providing healthier, happier work environments for their employees. And they’ve found several instances where business aircraft accomplishes both — such as when a sales team has several places to go in a short amount of time, when more than one employee is traveling on the same itinerary, when their destination isn’t a major airline hub, or when airline schedules simply don’t fit the company work schedule” (Donnelly, 2012). The article goes on to say that corporate/business aviation is bypassing the airlines, and it actually saves the employees money as well. They are spending less money by being able to eat at home or taking their own meals with them, and it also saves on ground time; meaning that it’s less money the company would have to spend on car rentals and insurance as well as the amount of time that’s wasted traveling from the airport to the actual destination. To me, corporate aviation is practical depending on the type of company work that is being sought. Moreover, sports teams will often make the choice to go the “private jet” route as well. Not only may it save the team organization time and money, but it can be generally flexible. “What makes business aviation so useful for athletes and their colleagues is not just that it is the means to avoid crowded airlines and public terminals, but smaller airplanes enable them to use many more airports than are available to airlines. The scheduling flexibility is also key, allowing athletes to travel when they need to, on short notice if necessary and without having to arrive at the airport two to three hours early” (Thurber, 2007).

To transition, as a management student, I have not particularly paid great attention to corporate/business aviation. As I have researched upon the various different corporate careers on the management side of things, I stumbled upon Walmart and their own aviation department. Walmart’s aviation department consists of Flight Operations Planning and Flight Operation Coordinators that creates schedules to maximize the productivity of the aircraft and flight crews and meets time-sensitive needs of passengers, safely and efficiently (Walmart Careers, 2015). According to Walmart’s website, the job opening for an Aviation Manager of Safety specifications include: Act as a liaison for other country aviation department Safety Management Systems Programs; Demonstrate up-to-date expertise in aviation safety and applies this to the development, execution, and improvement of action plans; Establishes safety and security objectives, and; Manages the development and maintenance of safety awareness program, among similar objectives (Manager Safety Aviation, 2015).

Furthermore and finally, this brings me to Walmart’s fleet operations. Walmart’s fleet location is in Rogers, Arkansas near its Bentonville headquarters. Walmart actually created Beaver Lake Aviation in Rogers for their operations in 1986 (Levin, Litvan, & Dudley, 2014). About 23,000 of the company's 1.8 million employees board at least one of Wal-Mart's corporate aircraft in the course of a year. “It is a huge operation," says Duane Futch, director of global travel services. "There are 22 corporate jets based in the home offices, two jets based in the Canada home office, one jet based in our Mexico home office and a turboprop at our Wal-Mart Brazil unit. (Corp. Fleet, n.d.).

References

Careers. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://careers.walmart.com/career-areas/corporate/aviation/

Donnelly, B. (2012, August 6). Business Aviation: The Unfair Advantage. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/businessaviation/2012/08/06/business-aviation-the-unfair-advantage/

Levin, A., Litvan, L., & Dudley, R. (2014, August 14). Wal-Mart Air Fleet Gets Taxpayer Support for Controllers. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-08-14/wal-mart-fleet-gets-taxpayer-support-to-pay-controllers

Manager Safety Aviation Jobs in Rogers at Walmart. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://jobs.walmart.com/rogers/aviation-﹠-travel/jobid5502986-manager-safety-aviation-jobs

Thurber, M. (2007, October 1). BJTonline: Business Jet Traveler. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/how-private-aviation-helps-sports-teams-score

Wal-Mart Wields Corp. Fleet. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.businesstravelnews.com/More-News/Wal-Mart-Wields-Corp--Fleet/?a=btn

NTSB Most Wanted List 2015

If the NTSB puts out a “Most Wanted List” in reference to aviation problems, chances are they’re probably significant problems because these problems frequently aid in accidents. For general aviation, I feel that because there are more accidents in this area than in commercial, and a big issue seems to be not noticing the warning signs of a stall/spin, it would have to be a significant issue. In my opinion, the greatest factor negatively impacting safety for the general aviation would be situational awareness, in general, during heavy workload areas during flight. For instance, the Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation article has three different instances where the planes would enter inadvertent aerodynamic stall and spin coincidentally. This is not to say that this is perhaps a major issue in itself, but rather some pilots being distracted with other maneuvers, or not recognizing the warning signs of a stall (2015). “The reason we still see these kinds of events is that we don’t really train to avoid stalls and spins. Most of the training is to show you how to get into a stall; and recover to satisfy your checkride – no spins. The spin becomes the boogie man because we don’t expose primary students to it. (We barely expose instructors to spins). This creates unnecessary anxiety that can turn up when you find yourself inadvertently in a spin – read panic. Also, we don’t teach you what it will look like when you get into an unintentional stall; safe to say that it won’t be straight and level flight or a mild 20 degree bank” (Owens, 2012).

As for commercial aviation, this article emphasizes ways to strengthen procedural compliance, and company compliance. In particular, the lack of callouts (or CRM in general) can cause or increase confusion on the procedures that have or have not already been accomplished (Strengthen Procedural Compliance, 2015). CRM alerted the aviation industry to the human interactions that are an integral part of any team performance. This training has the potential to save lives and money, as well as prevent accidents and lawsuits. While no one can assess how many lives have been saved or crashes averted as a result of CRM training, the impact has been significant. LOSA data demonstrate that 98 percent of all flights face one or more threats, with an average of four threats per flight. Errors have also been observed on 82 percent of all flights with an average of 2.8 per flight. Flawed group dynamics were evident when an Air Florida plane lifted off from Washington's National Airport on a winter day in 1982. Ice in a sensor caused the speed indicators to read too high, leading the captain to apply too little power as the plane ascended:

First Officer: Ah, that's not right.   Captain: Yes, it is, there's 80 [referring to speed].   First Officer: Nah, I don't think it's right. Ah, maybe it is.   Captain: Hundred and twenty.   First Officer: I don't know.
It wasn't right, and the first officer's muting his concerns led to the plane's stalling and crashing into a Potomac River bridge, killing all but five people on board (Making Air Travel Safer, 2015).

The NTSB list of recommendations for general aviation and commercial aviation for each of these topics do seem overall reasonable. For commercial aviation, the recommendations given to the FAA and the industry include 1) requiring pilots to conduct landing distance assessments, revising the procedures for handling thrust reverser lockout after landing, and discontinuing dive-and-drive approaches in non-precision approaches. They also emphasize requirement of pilot training programs for monitoring skills and workload management (Strengthen Procedural Compliance, 2015).

“In 2001, the FAA announced that the industry should discontinue the use of a ‘dive and drive’ process on non-precision approach procedures, since they contribute to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents, the leading cause of fatal commercial air accidents worldwide. Instead, the FAA advocates the use of procedures and training for a stabilized continuous descent on non-precision approaches. Some airlines have gone so far as to implement procedures that require pilots to immediately initiate a missed approach if they don’t see the airport when they reach the MDA; they are not permitted to continue ‘driving’ to the MAP” (Trescott, 2013).
As for general aviation, the recommendations given include pilots needing to avoid conditions that can lead to aerodynamic stalls and situations approaching wing critical AOA and decrease of airspeed (Prevent Loss of Control, 2015).

I feel as though the FAA and the airline companies, for the most part, already have their own implementations of these recommended procedures. For commercial aviation in terms of the thrust reverser lockout and landing distance assessment, put slightly more concentration on those subjects during simulator training. As for the CRM issue, it’s just a matter of awareness, and it is one of the largest areas covered in systems safety. Pilots know about the sterile cockpit, they know about callouts, and they know about situational awareness. The industry can continue to promote CRM positively, as they have been doing. I am not necessarily saying lack of CRM is not an issue, but it somehow always seems to pop back up in a major aviation NTSB report.

References

Making Air Travel Safer Through Crew Resource Management. (2014, February 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.apa.org/research/action/crew.aspx

Owens, B. (2012, September 21). Stall Spin Awareness: What Your Instructor Should Be Telling You. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://iflyblog.com/stall-spin-awareness-what-your-instructor-should-be-telling-you/

Prevent Loss of Control of Flight in General Aviation. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Documents/MWL_2015_Factsheet_07.pdf

Sterile Flight Deck (OGHFA BN). (2010, October 26). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Sterile_Flight_Deck_(OGHFA_BN)

Trescott, M. (2013, August 20). No more ‘dive and drive’ instrument approaches. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://blog.aopa.org/opinionleaders/2013/08/20/no-more-dive-and-drive-instrument-approaches/

 Strengthen Procedural Compliance. (2015, January 1). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl10_2015.aspx

Flying Cheap

From watching the Flying Cheap documentary in class, I believe the that there is a pilot shortage, but the cause is of two reasons: Pilot pay and pilot hours.  First, it costs a lot of money to begin pilot training, in which a good deal of pilots become in debt shortly after finishing training, as discussed in class. The starting pay for beginning pilots, many of which get their foot in the door through the regionals, is extremely low for such a demanding career. In addition, people become pilots because they want to make flying a career instead of a hobby that happens to pay very little; often, not very much to survive on. Below is a list taken from The Dallas Morning News. "In each case, the salary listed is what a first offer would earn in his or her first year on the job. Pilots start at airlines as first officers. They can move up to captain if they stay long enough to get enough seniority" (Maxon, July 2014).

10 Lowest-Paying Airlines

Estimated First-Year Salary as of July 20, 2014

Great Lakes	$14,616
Silver Airways	$18,693
SkyWest Airlines	$20,064
Mesa Airlines	$20,183
GoJet Airlines	$20,504
Republic/Shuttle/Chautauqua	$20,655
ExpressJet Airlines	$20,745
Atlantic Southeast Airlines	$20,907
Trans States Airlines	$21,531
PSA Airlines	$21,600

As airlines have started hiring to address growth demands and attrition, 11 of the 12 regional airlines we interviewed reported difficulties filling entry-level first-officer vacancies," the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a February (2014) report. Many of the mainline carriers' new pilots are coming from the smaller regional airlines where pay and opportunities are less (Maxon, July 2014).

Second, the new requirement for pilot hours may drive pilots away from the bigger airlines because they are “stuck” flying in the regionals to build time. "The rule requires first officers — also known as co-pilots — to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, requiring 1,500 hours total time as a pilot. Previously, first officers were required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, which requires 250 hours of flight time" (FAA, 2013).

Causes cited include new Federal regulations that require applicants to have more hours of experience and that require airlines to give pilots more rest; an aging population of pilots who are reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65; and low starting pay that discourages people from joining the profession (Maxon, December 2014). The rule requires first officers to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, requiring 1,500 hours total time as a pilot. Previously, first officers were required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, which requires 250 hours of flight time (FAA, 2013).

While searching for associations or organizations that represent the rest of the aviation industry like ALPA represents pilots, I came across the NBAA or National Business Aviation Association. This association plays parts in various different realms of aviation including airspace, airports, CNS, Environment, International relations, maintenance, Parts 121 and 135, safety, scheduling, security, and unmanned aircraft systems. (NBAA, 2015).

Professionalism in my own terms means having a good sense of judgement, a positive attitude, and showing proper behavior. On behalf of the documentary, however, a lack of professionalism was seen in a few different ways. First, both pilots involved in the Colgan accident had to drive a very long distance away in order to just get to base. The FO was also feeling under the weather in addition to being tired, yet still forced herself to fly. She also brought up the fact that if she were to not fly, she would have to pay for her own hotel room that she couldn't really afford. Not only was the FO inexperienced, which ultimately aided the series of unfortunate events leading up to the crash, but the Captain was fairly inexperienced as well...for being a Captain. The lack of relevant communication within the cockpit had also had an effect on why the incident happened. Neither of them communicated very much in the stalling process, especially when the FO didn't inform the Captain about her decision to use flaps; a decision that ultimately doomed the flight. 

Moreover, I do believe that the pilot compensation structure had hand in the unprofessionalism seen in the documentary. If pilots were paid better wages, were given some kind of bonus or contract deal, and were treated better by upper management, I believe the pilots would show more optimism and professionalism. As for me, I plan on maintaining and improving my professionalism skills by engaging in communication between management, co-workers, and anyone else I work with directly and indirectly. I also would like to improve my decision making skills, since they will prove to be extremely important in the industry. 

Frontline. (2010, February 9). Retrieved January 26, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flyingcheap/

Maxon, T. (2014, July 31). ALPA lists 10 airlines with lowest starting pay for pilots. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2015, from http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/07/alpa-lists-10-airlines-with-lowest-starting-pay.html/

Maxon, T. (2014, December 22). No. 10 on our top 10 airline stories of 2014: The pilot shortage begins to bite. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/12/no-10-on-our-top-10-airline-stories-of-2014-the-pilot-shortage-begins-to-bite.html/

NBAA Corporate Aviation Management Committee. (2015, January 1). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.nbaa.org/about/leadership/committees/camc/

Press Release – FAA Boosts Aviation Safety with New Pilot Qualification Standards. (2013, July 10). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14838

Regulations & Policies. (2015, January 1). Retrieved January 26, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/