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ATLANTA (TheStreet) -- The first quarter of 2011 may be a defining period in the recent history of U.S. commercial aviation, because it demonstrated that the industry has likely developed a capacity to weather sudden and dramatic cost challenges.
As fuel prices rose rapidly during the quarter, airline fares increased along with them, in "an unprecedented display of pricing discipline in this industry, to make sure we're getting the price of our product covered," said Delta(DAL_) President Ed Bastian at last week's J.P. Morgan transportation conference. "We've had eight [fare] increases since the start of the year, four of those led by Delta."
At the conference, both United(UAL_) CEO Jeff Smisek and US Airways(LCC_) US Airways President Scott Kirby proclaimed they had never seen anything like it. The industry has had "a round of price increases that has been faster than I've seen in 16 years in the industry," Smisek said.
Kirby noted that "the last six to eight weeks have given us one really good data point that the industry has restructured." After oil prices began to rise, "the industry responded more aggressively than I have ever seen," he said, adding that industry earnings this year are likely to be similar to down only slightly from last year. The industry made about $2.3 billion in 2010, reversing a year-earlier $3.2 billion loss.
Historically, airlines as a group have been unable to move quickly to recoup lost revenue because someone always held out, limiting the scope of fare increases. In the early 1990s, floundering, bankrupt Eastern kept fares low as it spent its creditors' money. In the middle of the last decade, Southwest(LUV_), protected by wise fuel hedging at a time when few competitors had capital to allocate to hedging, resisted efforts to boost fares.
Those days appear to have ended, not only because the top seven airlines are financially healthy, but also because the three low-fare carriers -- soon to be two low-fare carriers following the Southwest/AirTran merger -- have generally signed on to more rational pricing.'
The air-traffic control supervisor who created a furor last week by nodding off at Washington's Reagan National Airport also has sparked an industry debate over how pilots should respond to such situations.
When the lone controller on duty in the tower around midnight failed to reply to repeated radio transmissions from a pair of jetliners, both pilots quickly decided to land anyway.
There wasn't discussion with approach controllers at a separate facility about diverting to one of the region's other fields. Audio tapes indicate the first jet was on the ground only a few minutes after the initial sign of a communication problem. Both planes, carrying a total of more than 160 people, landed safely.
Now, a number of safety experts inside and outside government contend the pilots also shoulder blame in the incident. These experts fault the cockpit crews for forgoing what they contend would have been a safer option to land elsewhere, or at least stay in a holding pattern to determine why the Reagan National tower went silent for more than half an hour.
The first jet was a Boeing 737 operated by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines unit, followed by an Airbus A320 flown by the United Airlines unit of United Continental Holdings Inc.
The pilots of another American Airlines jet descended below 2,000 feet and also were preparing to touch down without receiving landing clearance from the tower, when the dozing controller came back on the frequency.
"It was clearly inappropriate to land without a clearance" from the tower and "it is preposterous to say there was no violation and it was a perfectly safe procedure," said Loretta Alkalay, the former top lawyer for the Federal Aviation Administration's Eastern region.
If a tower controller can't be reached for any reason, she said, "it is absolutely not up to the pilots to decide to land as though it was an uncontrolled airport."
Pilots have procedures for landing at fields that aren't manned by controllers, including checking weather conditions, broadcasting positions frequently on a common frequency and listening to what activity there may be on runways or taxiways. But when an airport tower is scheduled to be manned round the clock—as is Reagan National—Ms. Alkalay said she "never heard of a situation where the FAA says it's okay for pilots to decide, on their own, it's safe to land."
Richard Healing, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday that he was "more than a little surprised" the jets landed instead of flying on to nearby Baltimore-Washington International Airport or Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs.
The biggest potential hazards stemmed from planes or vehicles crossing runways in the darkness, without anyone alerting the pilots of the landing jets. "The safest approach would have been to divert," according to Mr. Healing. "It might have inconvenienced some passengers, but it wouldn't have compromised safety."
On Sunday, a spokesman for the NTSB said "the actions of the flight crews are one of the things" under investigation.
A United Airlines spokeswoman declined to comment.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said its pilots complied with procedures "clearly spelled out by the FAA," and didn't require tower clearance once Reagan National was deemed to be an uncontrolled airport. She said the weather was good, crews were aware of other airborne traffic and also followed appropriate procedures to taxi to the gate.
The views of safety experts span a wide spectrum. Mark Rosenker, the former chairman of the safety board, on Sunday said that based on preliminary information, the pilots apparently acted appropriately. "They would have had enough time to talk to company dispatchers to get some situational awareness," he said. "I wouldn't call them cowboys"
According to Mr. Rosenker, the cockpit-voice recorders also may reveal that before landing, the pilots attempted to reach company officials at the airport to find out about runway conditions and any unusual factors at the field.
So far, the FAA's focus has been almost entirely on what controllers did wrong. The head of the agency last week said he was "personally outraged" by the tower controller's behavior, while other FAA officials began looking at the budget implications of eliminating single-person staffing at towers. On Friday, the agency reminded approach controllers—often located dozens of miles from airports and who have authority over a much larger swath of air space—that "proper procedures dictate that they must offer pilots the chance to divert" if a control tower remains silent.
But as new details about the Reagan National incident emerged over the weekend, they prompted stepped-up criticism faulting the pilots for poor decision-making. Even some commercial pilots, who described infrequently landing at airports without local-controller assistance when it was past the scheduled closing time of those towers, said the United and American crews should have sought more information and probably taken more time to assess the situation.
An FAA spokeswoman said pilots have wide latitude in deciding where to land, as long as an airport isn't officially closed. According to tradition and practice, pilots also have the right to disregard controller commands if they believe there is an emergency situation or safety threat. But in this case, according to safety experts critical of actions by the pilots, the crews apparently failed to adequately exercise their independent judgment once the approach controller indicated it would be appropriate for the planes to land on their own.
Since the jets didn't report any fuel emergencies or other onboard difficulties, these experts said, there was no compelling safety reason to get on the ground as fast as possible. "I think they should have diverted ...and for the FAA to condone what happened is a big mistake," according to Greg Feith, a former safety board investigator who now runs his own aviation consulting firm. Neither the pilots nor the approach controllers "would have known if there happened to be a truck or a disabled aircraft stuck on the runway," according to Mr. Feith. And since there were fully-staffed airports open, less than 20 miles away, landing there would have been "in the interest of aviation safety."
According to the FAA, about 100 small, uncontrolled airports around the U.S. serve commercial traffic but don't have controllers at any time. Mr. Feith and other safety experts said that for airline pilots who land at those locations, the approaches and touchdowns are planned in advance with specific conditions and restrictions in mind. Unexpectedly going in without tower clearance, they said, reduces safety margins and can be especially hazardous if there is some sort of emergency. Certain U.S. airlines expect pilots to divert whenever there is a problem establishing communication with an airfield's tower.
Calling for a nationwide review of the air-traffic control systems backup procedures, FAA chief Randy Babbitt on Friday said: "I am determined to make sure we do not repeat Wednesday's unacceptable event."
Eau Claire (WQOW) – As of Monday night, an Eau Claire woman and the plane she was on are still missing. The small plane was supposed to land at Eau Claire's Heartland Aviation Sunday.
The pass angers and pilot were coming from Florida. WQOW News 18 was told the plane was last seen on radar in a remote area of Missouri. After searching 16-hundred square miles from the air and ground Monday, the Civil Air Patrol called of the search for the night. Weather permitting, efforts will resume Tuesday morning.
One aviation officials says search efforts will continue until, "the air force tells us to stop looking".
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Eau Claire (WQOW) - The search is on for a missing plane, with a local woman on board. The Eau Claire woman, along with the pilot and his wife, who are from Southern Wisconsin, were due at the Eau Claire airport early Sunday morning.
They were coming from Florida, and officials say the plane was last seen on radar in a remote area of Missouri. That's where the Civil Air Patrol has search planes and ground teams canvassing the area for any signs of the seven-passenger plane.
WQOW News 18 spoke with the daughter of the Eau Claire woman Monday. She didn't want us to identify her, or her mother. She tells us her mother is a businesswoman, who went down to Florida to look at some land and a plane that were for sale.
Like the little sister who has grown taller than her older siblings, Bombardier's 100-seat CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet is both the latest and biggest member of the CRJ series, but retains many of the physical characteristics of its relatives.
At a length of 39.1m (128ft), the CRJ1000 represents a 2.9m stretch of the CRJ900 and features a 7.5% trailing-edge extension over its 88-seat predecessor, a 0.66m wing-tip extension, reinforced landing gear and carbon, instead of steel, brakes.
This is Bombardier's last exercise in elongating the CRJ, which began life in 1989 when the Canadian airframer stretched its Challenger business jet to produce the General Electric CF34-powered CRJ100.
With an upgrade to a more efficient version of the CF34 engine, the 50-seater graduated to the CRJ200 and quickly became a regional airline workhorse that helped to form the backbone of the hub-and-spoke system in the USA. No longer produced for the commercial market, the CRJ200 spawned the 70-seat CRJ700 and the CRJ900.
In developing the new CRJ1000 around the 2007 timeframe, Bombardier opted to introduce an all-new "NextGen" cabin, with bigger passenger windows, overhead bins modified to store more luggage and LED lighting to brighten the cabin and highlight a new sidewall and ceiling-panel design. The NextGen's distinctive cabin features were then incorporated into the CRJ700 and CRJ900.
All three aircraft share CF34-8C5 powerplant commonality, although the CRJ1000 has, as basic, a normal take-off +2% to supply 13,630lb of thrust (60kN) with an optional +5% (see engine chart).
"The family concept is something that is also driving all of our design. We're evolving the design, we're not redoing it," says Jean-Guy Blondin, Bombardier CRJ programmes director.
With the CRJ1000 - which, like its sisters, is equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 integrated cockpit avionics - Bombardier was "able to maintain the same type rating for pilots and the same maintenance training course" as the other CRJs, Blondin notes. "There are a few differences, but it's very, very simple to migrate to the new airplane if you're already a certified mechanic or a certified pilot. There is very little learning required. So that also helps airlines introduce a new type in their fleet and reduce their costs," he adds.
That is not to say the Canadian airframer has not made changes and improvements with the latest member of the CRJ family. "We've taken the opportunity of developing the CRJ1000 to bring a few new technologies into the aircraft," Blondin says.
Most notably, instead of the hydro-mechanical rudder system found on the CRJ700/900, a control-by-wire system has been selected for the CRJ1000. The system, supplied by Germany's Liebherr Aerospace, was the subject of a software glitch in 2009, which delayed certification of the aircraft. However, Bombardier fixed the issue and the aircraft entered service in December 2010 with launch customer Air Nostrum and Air France subsidiary Brit Air.
"We learned a few things with our command-by-wire system on the CRJ1000," Gary Scott, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, says. "The bottom line is we had some software challenges and so you learn about writing software and how the different [software] programs relate to one another."
Since the CRJ1000 entered service it had been "delivering on all fronts," Blondin adds.
Air Nostrum, a regional affiliate to Iberia, agrees with Bombardier's assessment, telling Flight International: "Management is very pleased with the performance to date, recognising the aircraft have accumulated very little hours yet. Same applies to the economics - so far so good. The reliability is very high and no relevant snags have been detected."
DELAY
The carrier admits the delay had a negative impact on its plans "but we have managed to minimise it together with Bombardier. We are replacing 50-seaters with the CRJ1000 as it has much better cost per seat, so we can better compete in our low-yield environment."
Bombardier is considering modifying the hydro-mechanical rudder system in the CRJ700 and CRJ900 to the control-by-wire system used in the CRJ1000. Blondin notes that what has been learned while implementing the CRJ1000 will help reduce technical risk on the airframer's all-new, 110- to 130-seat Pratt & Whitney-geared turbofan-powered CSeries, which "will be a fully three-axis" fly-by-wire-controlled aircraft.
Another new feature for the CRJ1000, he says, is the CMC Electronics-provided dual electronic flight bag systems. Blondin says: "It's a Class 2 EFB that is mounted on each side of the cockpit, but removable. We've also developed an aircraft performance package that, if [operators] elect, they could load on to the computer and they can do aircraft performance calculations quicker and with more precision than having to look at quick reference books and pages of data."
On the flightdeck, the CRJ1000 boasts LCD screens for the newest configuration of the flight management system and digital radios. Coupled vertical navigation is deployed as part of the CRJ1000 programme and is now available as an optional feature on the CRJ700 and CRJ900.
"We've been working a lot on the FMS capability and also on lateral navigation precision, but we are still working on the vertical aspect of the flightpath," Blondin says.
"More and more today in the airspace environment, accurate guidance of the airplane in following a lateral track - but also vertical guidance to precise crossing altitudes waypoints - becomes extremely critical.
"In other words, you have both a left/right deviation as well as a higher or lower deviation, where the aircraft can accurately be at any point in that three-dimensional spectrum. The air traffic controllers will issue a clearance and command: 'We want you at that waypoint place at 5,000ft', then the FMS system and auto pilot guides the airplane and takes you to exactly that point at 5,000ft, fully automated.
"So the fact that you have more precision now in the newer-generation airplanes in your ability to properly place your aircraft in space, has allowed air traffic to reduce spacing and increase capacity into and out of airports," Blondin says.
Bombardier CRJ1000 GA
An option for the CRJ1000, and also now for the CRJ900 and CRJ700, is the wide area augmentation system (WAAS) and localiser performance with vertical guidance (LPV) solution for precision approach navigation.
"By doing a WAAS-based system you increase the accuracy of the lateral and vertical navigation capability of the airplane," Blondin says. "This allows us to certify LPV approaches, which enables instrument landing system-like approaches in an airport. So we are recreating the same capability in the airplane using the satellites as you had with the ground-based systems. In effect, working with the Federal Aviation Administration guidelines for the next-gen [air traffic control] system, which will be much more dependent on satellite-based navigation than on the ground-based equipment.
"So as you can see, we're evolving the platform to be able to handle any of the new navigation capabilities that are being developed.
"The other thing we've done as an option for the CRJ1000, which we had already done on the CRJ700/900, is the head-up guidance system with Cat IIIa capability. It's being certified as we speak," Blondin adds.
CONFIGURATIONS
Apart from the now standard NextGen cabin features offered across the CRJ700/900/1000 line, the CRJ1000 is available in single- and dual-class configuration, with a 31in (79cm) pitch for seats in economy class.
Seats manufactured by C&D Zodiac and B/E Aerospace are offered line-fit on the CRJ1000. "It's a customer's selection," Blondin says, confirming that if a carrier wants a seat outside the catalogue it must do so via retrofit. In-flight entertainment is an optional feature for the CRJ1000. "It's an individually mounted, seat-back TV screen with audio/video on demand," Blondin says.
Bombardier CRJ1000 cutaway
Click for full size image
In the future, Bombardier expects to offer in-flight wi-fi on its CRJs. "Being able to access the internet from your own device, in our view, seems to be much more in demand than just watching TV or reruns. I think that's where the future is at, because people can stay connected to the office using their computer or they can surf the internet and do what they want. So the internet approach offers a lot more value to the public," Blondin says.
Bombardier operates a single, standardised manufacturing line for the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 at its Mirabel facility outside Montreal, with a 66-day production cycle from join to customer delivery. "We can build any number of CRJ700s, CRJ900s and CRJ1000s in any quantity the customer may want, " Blondin says.
The CRJ1000 has attracted 49 orders - 35 from Air Nostrum and 15 from Brit Air - and Bombardier is optimistic it will secure more orders for the type. The aircraft offers "between 5% and 7% lower direct operating cost than competing jets," alongside the "enhanced comfort of the NextGen cabin and a reduced environmental impact with low fuel burn", Blondin says, adding that the manufacturer is having "good discussions" about CRJ1000 orders.
Blondin says the 49 orders makes it the airframer's most successful launch. However, pilot scope clause constraints in the USA have made it difficult for Bombardier to break the CRJ1000 into the US market.
"We saw this as the final edition, the final piece to our CRJ family," Scott says. "The market segment for it is several hundred, so it's more of a niche airplane. Obviously it doesn't work well in the United States because of the scope limitations, but it does work well in Europe and in other parts of the world, so we're optimistic," he adds.
Roger Cohen, president of US regional airline lobbying group the Regional Airline Association, also expresses confidence that the CRJ1000 will eventually take to US skies.
"[These days] it's hard to describe what's a regional airline, what's not a regional airline [and] what's a mainline aircraft," he says. "Those lines, if they were ever in existence before, have been blurred, if not obliterated, and it continuously changes."
WASHINGTON - Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., called on the Obama administration Friday to block the pending sale of a Duluth aircraft company to a Chinese company until it can prove that the sale will not hurt national security or cost hundreds of Minnesotans their jobs.
In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Cravaack said he is "gravely concerned" about the sale of Cirrus Aircraft to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., which is controlled by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp. of China.
The Eighth District congressman said the sale could "compromise America's national security."
Geithner heads a committee that oversees foreign investment in the United States.
"Aside from the multiple national security concerns, there are hundreds of American families that would lose their livelihood if this acquisition is allowed to proceed," Cravaack told Geithner in his letter.
The charges brought a pointed response from Cirrus Chief Executive Brent Wouters: "Their facts are wrong."
Wouters disputed Cravaack's contention that the sale would cost Minnesotans jobs and said Cirrus, whose sales have been falling, must sell its business for financial reasons.
"I called the congressman privately before we announced the sale and assured him we wouldn't lose jobs [if the sale went through]," Wouters said. "The facilities that build these planes are FAA-certified. They can't move."
Cravaack, citing an online report in an aviation trade journal, said an American investment group is interested in making an offer to buy Cirrus.
Wouters also disputed that. "There is no other bidder," said Wouters, whose company had $200 million in sales last year.
Then Wouters issued a warning of his own about the loss of hundreds of Minnesota jobs: "If this transaction doesn't happen, the alternatives for jobs will be far worse in Duluth and Grand Forks," where Cirrus has facilities. "It will extend to suppliers as well."
Cravaack's security concerns surround the possible military application of a carbon composite material Cirrus uses on its aircraft, the engine it uses to run it and a small rocket that propels an emergency parachute designed to stop crashes of Cirrus aircraft in emergencies.
In his letter to Geithner, Cravaack, a former Navy pilot who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the carbon composite could be adapted into the skin of high-altitude surveillance drones that gather military intelligence. He said the engines could be adapted for use in cruise missiles and surveillance drones.
Wouters said the composite is not adaptable to military use because it cannot withstand heat generated in military use. He said the engine, which is produced by a company in Detroit, not by Cirrus, is already available in China. Cirrus planned all along to divest itself of the rocket technology before the sale because the sale of such technology to a foreign country is prohibited, Wouters said.
"I can understand where Cirrus is coming from," Cravaack said, "but you also have to understand that the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company basically is the hand in the glove of the China state-run defense contractors. They use a lot of our technology and basically redesign it and use it for their own purposes.
"All I'm saying is we need to proceed slowly and cautiously before we allow any of our technology to go overseas," Cravaack said.
Upset by the growing costs, frustrations and complications of the US air-travel security apparatus, the US Travel Association (USTA) has issued a major report insisting that there ``can, and must'' be a better way of doing so.
Entitled exactly that, A Better Way: Building a World-Class System for Aviation Security, the report calls for the replacement of a one-size-fits-all security screening system at US airports with a tailor-made ``fast-track'' system that will be based on ``risk assessment'' and allow the overwhelmingly vast majority of low-risk travellers to clear security quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.
Indirectly, the report is a damning indictment of the plethora of inconsistent rules and regulations, duplication of standards and constant adding of tools and technologies that have simply been ``layered'' on top of each other in the 10 years since the 9/11 attacks.
The USTA report says: ``The current aviation security system is discouraging Americans from flying and contributing to a decline in productivity among those who choose to fly.
``According to a 2010 survey conducted by Consensus Research, American travellers would take an additional two to three flights per year if the hassles in security screening system were eliminated.
``These additional flights would add nearly $85 billion in consumer spending and 900,000 jobs to the American economy.''
The report quotes the same research as noting that a large majority of Americans consider today's security screening system to be ``inconsistent,'' ``stressful'' and ``embarrassing.''
The report says: ``When discussing traveller frustrations, two-thirds of air travellers (66%) believed air travel security was a complicated problem and were frustrated by what they view to be heavy-handed procedures at airport checkpoints.
``The survey also found that travellers' frustration with the system was not limited to just one or two security measures but include a whole range of issues.''
Adds the report, ``The President of the United States acknowledged the challenges with today's system when he joked in the 2011 State of the Union address that we should support high-speed rail as an alternative to flying because, `it will be faster than flying-without the pat-down'.''
It says: ``Unfortunately, our aviation system is not a symphony of tools and technologies playing in harmony and efficiently moving passengers through security, but instead a cacophony of disjointed parts that are not built to systematically manage risk in the best way possible.
``Because of the lack of analytical tools and risk management metrics, as well as general public acceptance that there is risk inherent in air travel (as there is with every other mode of travel), new technologies, solutions or tools are often deployed by TSA only in reaction to public events and political pressure.''
According to the report, ``Is today's security screening system the most cost effective and efficient that the United States can possibly produce? No. The country that put a man on the moon, invented the Internet and creates daily innovations in manufacturing can and must do better.''
Its key recommendation is for the US Congress to authorise the TSA ``to implement a new, voluntary, government-run Trusted Traveller program that utilises a risk-based approach to checkpoint screening, with the goal of refocusing resources on the highest risk passengers.''
The report also suggests that the Department of Homeland Security ``should enable certain low-risk passengers who are travelling to another domestic airport to forego checked baggage and passenger screening upon landing in the US.''
It also calls for the DHS to ``expand access to international trusted traveller programmes for international passengers entering the US, as well as lead efforts to establish a multinational network of streamlined entry procedures for low-risk travellers.''
Says the report, ``One of the greatest challenges CBP and TSA face is identifying international travellers who may pose a threat, distinguishing them from the mass of the travelling public and subjecting them to additional scrutiny in a manner that facilitates the travel of other passengers.''
The report acknowledges that the absence of any successful attacks in the US since 9/11 can be construed as ``proof'' that all the existing security systems have worked.
However, it adds, ``as aviation security continues to evolve, the combination of new screening procedures, technologies, regulatory requirements, and evolving threats are putting increased strain on aviation stakeholders and the travelling public.
``Many are starting to question whether the current system strikes the proper balance between facilitating the movement of goods and people, and providing protection from the continued threat of terrorist attack.''
Nothwithstanding the temporary downturn in air travel caused by the recession, the FAA predicts that yearly passenger totals will grow from 713 million domestic and international passengers in FY 2010 to nearly 1.3 billion in FY 2031.
``In the next five years alone, FAA predicts that passenger levels will grow by an average of 3.7% per year, and continue to grow at an average of 2.5% from FY 2016 to FY 2031.
``With such steep rises in passenger levels, TSA will be hard pressed to control the growth of its budget, wait times at security checkpoints will increase, and the burdens of the current system will slow economic recovery unless Congress and TSA develop a long-term, risk based strategy to focus assets and resources at the highest priority threats,'' the report says.
Although the general economic outlook is still murky, one corner of the market - business travel - bodes well for the immediate future. According to International Business Times and the Global Business Travel Association, business travel increased in 2010 and is expected to grow up to 6.7% this year and another 6.9% in 2012. Companies that address this growth in a creative way will be in the enviable position of adding to their own bottom line while further supporting the economic recovery on a number of levels.
Traditionally, Fortune 500 companies have had to spend a lot of money up-front on acquisition costs with long-term contracts and maintenance fees for their top executives to travel on private aircraft rather than commercial flights, with the operator providing little service beyond ferrying them from point A to point B.
A new executive charter company, Skynet Aviation Group, offers a fresh take on the corporate travel experience, and is positioned to take advantage of the growth in business travel by providing service, access and value beyond the basics. Paul Levine and Benjamin Head, managing directors, created a new kind of charter service based on the personal touch - what they like to call "white glove and red carpet" customer care. "High-level executives use private aviation because it saves time and money," notes Levine. "But until now, they've had no alternative to paying up-front for contracts and indifferent treatment. We offer the flexibility of 'on-demand' service with no monthly maintenance or long-term commitment fees, plus personal concierge service that they can't find anywhere else."
Although Skynet Aviation Group is a new company, both Head and Levine have years of experience in the industry and know their market well. "Business needs private aviation to thrive," says Head. "Executives and CEO's spend a lot of hours in the air, and we wanted to give them an experience that offers the whole package; safety, flexibility and global access along with a personal travel concierge that allows our clients to focus on business while we focus on all of the details of their trip." Each client has one Skynet Aviation Group contact who personally manages every leg of the trip, ensuring VIP treatment from door-to-door and keeping the client's home office appraised of his progress with an exclusive "flight following" program.
Leveraging their combined experience and contacts, Head and Levine developed the largest fleet of luxury charter aircraft in the U.S., Europe, Caribbean and South America, and implemented a rigorous safety program, recognized as one of the industry's finest. Their unique take on the business extends to their approach to marketing. Instead of the traditional print and media campaign they connect directly with Fortune 500 clients by participating in business conferences, summits and ultra high-end luxury events. Says Head, "We are using our marketing budget to put us face to face with the people who can afford and need to use our services." This efficient and effective strategy includes sponsorship of the recent Boat International Mega Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous in the British Virgin Islands. In addition, Skynet Aviation Group is the exclusive aviation sponsor of the Institutional Investor Hedge Fund Conference in Bermuda later this spring (May 1 - 3), providing delegates and attendees unrestricted access to Skynet Aviation Group's global fleet of aircraft.
Thinking outside the business travel box is paying off. In their first year of business, Head and Levine are projecting four to five million dollars in revenue, with referrals from corporate clients (90% of their business base) accounting for a large part of the growth. It's clear that personal service and a true VIP experience are striking a chord in the corporate travel world, a fact that surprises no one at Skynet Aviation Group. "Our brand equity is in our clients," says Levine. "We just know we're positioned to be successful."
