RVSM
Member
We already have a thread on why GA is not working and why it is considered a "dying" industry in the United States. So, I thought I'd take a moment to create a thread that gathers some ideas about how we actually go about building a new GA paradigm.
There are many elements to any industry that determines its success and/or failure. I could literally write a book about the industry I work in, describing the various elements that make it work, what could kill it and how to possibly make it better. Bringing some of the same ideas that would make any for profit industry strong, I'd like to offer my take on what GA might be able to do, in order to improve its current economic situation.
Though not yet a pilot, I've been involved in aviation (military, commercial and GA) since I was very young. I go back far enough to remember the cost of a C-152 coming in at around $38 - $48 per hour Wet, with the standard C-172 coming in at around $41 - $53 per hour. You could rent a twin back in those days for $68 per hour Wet, or lower. The excessive increases in 'cost-to-participate' alone, have been a big factor for suppressing the growth in GA over the years. But, cost-to-participate is not the only key factor.
If you go back to GA in the United States circa late 1950's through late 1970's, you not only see thriving GA community, but you also see a commitment on the part of government to actually building new airports that were supposed to support not just the hobby of GA, but the commerce that depended on GA. Once upon a time in this country, we actually built smaller local and regional airports to support the "anticipated" future air traffic needed to link various regions into economic relationships. Somehow, that 'commitment' to grow GA as a necessary arm of commerce, has turned into a 'War on GA' as a necessary evil of sorts.
Every business in every industry has a duty to win the Mindshare War. Without mindshare you have little to no market activity. If people have no reason to think about what you have to offer them, they won't think about spending either their money or their time in your place of business and you certainly can't grow an industry absent dollars from customers. If you are going to move GA out of the doldrums, then GA has to become more than just a mere hobby to the masses, which means redeveloping what GA means to people and packaging that meaning in ways that make it necessary and/or desirable for a larger number of people. GA needs to become more than a lifestyle, but a lifestyle that is interwoven to one's profession, vocation and/or career choice. Do that successfully and the industry will boom beyond imagination.
The Money Factor has always been one of my pet peeves about GA. I remember the days back in school, when the only kids that could get their Private Pilots License, were those that came from families who had already established fully funded college accounts, back when the were still in High School. In other words, fairly well to do families. GA is expensive and that will by definition keep the masses from ever engaging the lifestyle. It will always make GA seem like something only 'rich people' do. When the masses are not involved, it causes everything (excluding fuel prices) to go up in price eventually because there is lower demand and little to no competition.
We could see a decrease in overall prices by increasing demand AND increasing competition at the same time. However, merely increasing demand without also increasing competition will only serve to drive prices even higher.
The problem (as I see it) is that nobody is doing anything about treating GA like a real business. Where's the Marketing Plan for GA? Where's the Expansion Strategy for GA? Where's the Business Plan for GA? How can anyone expect it to grow, when none of these things are in place? It is not as if people don't already know that airplanes exist. People know and the GA industry is still compressing, not expanding. Therefore, treating GA as a high-priced hobby just won't work. There needs to be concerted, strategic, ongoing national plan that seeks to expand GA by way of education, exposure and incentive. Absent that - you cannot establish the necessary mindshare that develops long rang interest in those who are now either sitting on the sidelines, or who have never been properly introduced to the industry/community.
In any real business model, you must constantly focus on increasing market share (through increasing mindshare) and improving the product, along with the way that product gets delivered to the customer. Fail to do that, and your business will stagnate unless you run a Commodity type business model. In order to increase the market, people have to see GA as something that is either necessary or at least desirable enough to include as a normalized component of their own personal discretionary spending. This is not going to happen, if GA is only considered to be a weekend hobby for rich folks.
GA needs a Paradigm Shift. Somehow, the SEL aircraft needs to become almost as important to people as their car or SUV. Notice, I said "almost as important." That mental framework helps to bridge the gap between "necessary" and "highly desirable" in the mind of the end-user. This is simply not going to happen all by itself. Nobody is going to sprinkle magical pixie dust on people and get them to start thinking about airplanes in ways they never did before. I see three (3) important areas that need to be explored.
Using the aircraft to:
1) Extend individual Professional, Vocational, Career and Business opportunities
2) Increase and Strengthen Family relationships by reducing Time & Distance
3) Increasing Personal Freedom by extending Range and decreasing Time
Now, there is absolutely nothing new abut these concepts whatsoever to those already involved in GA. However, do any of these things even register to those not already involved? Nope. And, that's the problem!
There are many elements to any industry that determines its success and/or failure. I could literally write a book about the industry I work in, describing the various elements that make it work, what could kill it and how to possibly make it better. Bringing some of the same ideas that would make any for profit industry strong, I'd like to offer my take on what GA might be able to do, in order to improve its current economic situation.
Though not yet a pilot, I've been involved in aviation (military, commercial and GA) since I was very young. I go back far enough to remember the cost of a C-152 coming in at around $38 - $48 per hour Wet, with the standard C-172 coming in at around $41 - $53 per hour. You could rent a twin back in those days for $68 per hour Wet, or lower. The excessive increases in 'cost-to-participate' alone, have been a big factor for suppressing the growth in GA over the years. But, cost-to-participate is not the only key factor.
If you go back to GA in the United States circa late 1950's through late 1970's, you not only see thriving GA community, but you also see a commitment on the part of government to actually building new airports that were supposed to support not just the hobby of GA, but the commerce that depended on GA. Once upon a time in this country, we actually built smaller local and regional airports to support the "anticipated" future air traffic needed to link various regions into economic relationships. Somehow, that 'commitment' to grow GA as a necessary arm of commerce, has turned into a 'War on GA' as a necessary evil of sorts.
Every business in every industry has a duty to win the Mindshare War. Without mindshare you have little to no market activity. If people have no reason to think about what you have to offer them, they won't think about spending either their money or their time in your place of business and you certainly can't grow an industry absent dollars from customers. If you are going to move GA out of the doldrums, then GA has to become more than just a mere hobby to the masses, which means redeveloping what GA means to people and packaging that meaning in ways that make it necessary and/or desirable for a larger number of people. GA needs to become more than a lifestyle, but a lifestyle that is interwoven to one's profession, vocation and/or career choice. Do that successfully and the industry will boom beyond imagination.
The Money Factor has always been one of my pet peeves about GA. I remember the days back in school, when the only kids that could get their Private Pilots License, were those that came from families who had already established fully funded college accounts, back when the were still in High School. In other words, fairly well to do families. GA is expensive and that will by definition keep the masses from ever engaging the lifestyle. It will always make GA seem like something only 'rich people' do. When the masses are not involved, it causes everything (excluding fuel prices) to go up in price eventually because there is lower demand and little to no competition.
We could see a decrease in overall prices by increasing demand AND increasing competition at the same time. However, merely increasing demand without also increasing competition will only serve to drive prices even higher.
The problem (as I see it) is that nobody is doing anything about treating GA like a real business. Where's the Marketing Plan for GA? Where's the Expansion Strategy for GA? Where's the Business Plan for GA? How can anyone expect it to grow, when none of these things are in place? It is not as if people don't already know that airplanes exist. People know and the GA industry is still compressing, not expanding. Therefore, treating GA as a high-priced hobby just won't work. There needs to be concerted, strategic, ongoing national plan that seeks to expand GA by way of education, exposure and incentive. Absent that - you cannot establish the necessary mindshare that develops long rang interest in those who are now either sitting on the sidelines, or who have never been properly introduced to the industry/community.
In any real business model, you must constantly focus on increasing market share (through increasing mindshare) and improving the product, along with the way that product gets delivered to the customer. Fail to do that, and your business will stagnate unless you run a Commodity type business model. In order to increase the market, people have to see GA as something that is either necessary or at least desirable enough to include as a normalized component of their own personal discretionary spending. This is not going to happen, if GA is only considered to be a weekend hobby for rich folks.
GA needs a Paradigm Shift. Somehow, the SEL aircraft needs to become almost as important to people as their car or SUV. Notice, I said "almost as important." That mental framework helps to bridge the gap between "necessary" and "highly desirable" in the mind of the end-user. This is simply not going to happen all by itself. Nobody is going to sprinkle magical pixie dust on people and get them to start thinking about airplanes in ways they never did before. I see three (3) important areas that need to be explored.
Using the aircraft to:
1) Extend individual Professional, Vocational, Career and Business opportunities
2) Increase and Strengthen Family relationships by reducing Time & Distance
3) Increasing Personal Freedom by extending Range and decreasing Time
Now, there is absolutely nothing new abut these concepts whatsoever to those already involved in GA. However, do any of these things even register to those not already involved? Nope. And, that's the problem!
