Final blog of the semester

              At the beginning of the class I wasn't positive about the path I was going to take, I had some ideas but nothing set in stone. I had thought of pursuing aviation writing, such as writing for AOPA or Aviation weekly. While I’m not opposed to doing that recently I have discovered a position in the industry that I was unaware of. I recently interviewed Bryan Wagoner, the Environmental Administrator at DTW, who told me about a position called the Aviation Wildlife Biologist. The position doesn't require a degree in biology; rather it is a certificate that is given by the FAA for meeting certain requirements. As an avid outdoors man this position is very interesting to me as it will utilize the management skills I have learned and allow me to work outside as well.

                I think that the most interesting blog topic this semester was the growth in China’s aviation industry. I found the effects that it is having on our industry and how we are working to compete on a global basis is extremely interesting.

                The least interesting topic of the semester was technology in the airport. While I find technology to be interesting, most of the technology that I read about I was already aware of, I do think it will be fun to see the advances that are made over the next decade however, as I’m sure that the advances they have made in the area will start to make its way into the aviation industry.

                The speaker that stood out the most to me was Dan (don’t remember his last name), he gave us a list entitled “Dan’s Life Lessons” , I wrote them all down and I have them in a place where I see them on a daily basis. I found his list of advice very inspirational!

                After graduation I plan on traveling to Pennsylvania for the Aviation Wildlife Biologist training, I will also make it a point to join professional groups. I have entertained the idea of a master’s degree, however I will try to find a job first and try to have them pay for it.

Aviation Organizations

As we all know it is extremely important to network, especially within the aviation industry, however,  Avscholars.com discusses some other important resources that are available to professionals who join aviation organizations. An organization can help bring people together for networking opportunities, but they can also provide resources such as flight planning material, learning opportunities, scholarships and more.

                There are hundreds if not thousands of clubs available, however, and it might be difficult to choose which club is best for you. The best way to do this is to find something that fits your career and your goals for your future. Heading down the path of management myself, two organizations that I will most likely join after graduation would be AOPA and NBAA. One of my favorite things that the AOPA offers is advocacy, they are a large organization and have the power to represent their members on the legal playing field. They also offer tools and resources for flying and give seminars on safety and further education, along with membership also comes a subscription to their magazine which offers great articles about the world of aviation.

                Seeking employment in the business sector of aviation the NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) offers business professionals  networking opportunities with other likeminded individuals, through seminars and classes, they promote business aviation, and one of the most intriguing things for me professional development. The NBAA offers what they call the Certified Aviation Manager program which allows any individual who completes the test to become a certified manager, the NBAA also provides its members with scholarship opportunities to further their education and in some instances also offers tuition reimbursement.

                Even though there are many organizations to choose from, it is best to look through their website and find out what they offer before you join, if you look hard enough you will find something that is a fit for you.

 

AOPA. (n.d.). Membership benefits. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/Membership/Membership-Benefits.aspx

 

Avscholars. (2003). Aviation organizations. Retrieved from http://www.avscholars.com/Aviation_Organizations_Clubs/aviation-organizations.htm

 

NBAA. (n.d.). Professional development. Retrieved from

http://www.nbaa.org/prodev/

 

NBAA. (n.d.). What is business avitation?. Retrieved from

http://www.nbaa.org/business-aviation/

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAA allows travelers to use electronic devices during flight

        Ever since digital media became portable, travelers have grumbled about the strict rules concerning the use of personal devices on aircraft.However, according to USA Today, the FAA has recently met with a committee “representing the airlines, manufacturers, electronic makers, pilots and flight attendants.” (USA Today, 2013) After meeting with the committee, the FAA made the decision to change their requirements and have made the move to allow personal devices to be used during all phases of flight, given that each airline can test and prove that their aircraft's systems are not affected. Another provision of the new regulation is that all cellular activity is still prohibited and all devices must be in airplane mode.

        The regulation was met with excitement from those who supported the changes, according to The Wall Street Journal, airlines such as Delta and JetBlue have already performed their test and are jumping to get approval from the FAA, and American Airlines had plans to apply for approval in the very near future. While most of the world seems to be excited about the change, there a some who still have their concerns.

        According to the Washington Post, ALPA is not as excited about the changes, they are concerned about the effects of devices on navigational aids during poor weather, and are concerned about the fact that it is up to individuals to put their devices in airplane mode, and they do not believe that everyone will be willing to comply. An article on NBC News states worries from flight attendants over the issue, they believe that they will have to become “tablet police” and increase the amount of confrontation between them and passengers.

        I have mixed feelings about the new regulations, on one side I believe that it will be good for the industry to be able to provide, or allow this service to take place. However, people do not generally have any loyalties to air carriers and thanks to websites like expedia.com, travelers can fly one leg of their flight on a delta aircraft and the second leg on a united or any other carrier, if one company allows the policy and the other doesn't, I don't believe people will understand why they could use their device on one plane, and not on another. I think it has the potential to lead to misunderstandings and hot tempers, but then again, I suppose that isn't something we don't see at the airport already!

Jansen, B. (2013, November 01). Faa loosens rules for electronic devices during flights. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/31/faa-gadgets-personal-electronics/3238207/

Lazo, L., & Berman, M. (2013, October 31). Faa to relax rules on personal electronic devices while in flight. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/faa-to-relax-rules-on-personal-electronic-devices-while-in-flight/2013/10/31/d674b04e-4243-11e3-8b74-d89d714ca4dd_story.html

Nicas, J., & Pasztor, A. (2013, October 31). Faa says fliers can use devices during all phases of flight. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304527504579169542339497208

Popken, B. (2013, October 31). Faa to allow tablets and e-readers during all phases of flight. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/faa-allow-tablets-e-readers-during-all-phases-flight-8C11504132

US Airways and American Airline Merger

      Mergers within the airline industry have been happening for years but the most recent proposed merger between US Airways and American Airlines has caused some concern. There is debate over whether the merger will be good for the consumer or not, will it raise prices or lower prices? According to the Huffington Post the merger will lower competition on more than 1600 routes, while the airlines insist that the two companies only have 12 overlapping routes, others are taking into consideration the connecting routes. While there may not be many overlapping flights they will be adding those connecting routes to their schedules which reduces the competition on those routes also. Doug Parker, the CEO, of US Airways Group Inc. says that the merger will be good for consumers because of the new and extended options that will be available to them because of the added routes between each company. The merger would create the worlds largest airline, and taking into consideration Parkers view of reducing competition and creating more options for passengers I would believe that ticket prices would go down, I believe it would be unwise to present the merger as a benefit to passengers and then raise prices on them when prices are the most important thing considered when people travel by air.

Another issue that has raised concern for the merger is speculation over how the seniority list will be merged. According to David Jones, a consulting editor for FAPA, in the past the seniority list has been decided several ways, not all of them deemed fair, for example the list has been made depending on the size of the two merging companies, often the smaller companies employees, regardless of their time, were just added to the bottom of the larger companies seniority list. Another way the list has been made was according to age, regardless of hire date or experience, this happened in the 80's and when the company furloughed employees, pilots with higher level of experience were laid off because of their age while older pilots with less experience were still working. For those outside of the industry it might be difficult to understand the deep impact of this, but seniority for a pilot determines the aircraft they fly, what seat they're in and even what routes are available to them. With two major companies merging, it will be very difficult to determine the list in a way that pleases everyone. If it were up to me to determine how the seniority list was compiled, I believe that the fairest way would be to start at the top with years of employment with their company, followed by date of hire, and then the final positions would be determined by the last four digits of the employees social security number. I believe that this would be the fairest way in that experience is still being considered and the random slots assigned by SSN will be isolated to the few competing employees on a certain hire date.

While all of these topics are important to the merging of these two companies, none of it will matter if the merger is not approved by the Department of Justice. All airline mergers must be reviewed by the DoJ according to the nation's antitrust laws, antitrust laws, according to the DoJ website “protect economic freedom and opportunity by promoting free and fair competition in the marketplace.” (2013, DoJ) The reason why this particular merger has been hung up is because there are a few who believe that the merger will cause the new company to have an unfair advantage over other companies. Now this sound like a serious problem and when I first read this I wondered what huge thing this new company would have that created such a large advantage, but according to Reuters the advantage is the number of take-off slots that will be held by the company at Reagan National and a few other airports. Because the new company will hold the slots owned by US Airways and American Airlines, the company has been asked to give up a percent of those slots, while they agree to give up some, they have said that they would only be willing to give up so many. In my opinion, however, I don't foresee them not giving up the slots that gets them the approval from the DoJ.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding a larger merger like this, and it is easy to speculate what will happen, but honestly the most we can do is sit back and see what happens.

Bartz, D. (2013, November 4). Justice department details deal for american, us airways fight. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/04/us-americanairlines-usairways-antitrust-idUSBRE9A30QS20131104

Department of Justice. (n.d.). Mission. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/atr/about/mission.html

Jones, D. (2013). Pilot seniority a hot issue at merging airlines. Retrieved from http://fapa.aero/content.asp?ID=69&Gateway=Industry

Koeing, D. (n.d.). American airlines-u.s. airways merger would reduce competition: Gao. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/airline-merger-competition-gao_n_3471090.html

What is Professionalism?

          Professionalism is talked about in the workplace quite often, we have all met those people who seem to embody the meaning of it, and conversely those unfortunate souls who wouldn't know what professionalism is if it were staring them in the face; but what exactly is professionalism? We know it when we see it, but it can be difficult to put a finger on it.

If I were to describe what a professional is, I would say it is those individuals who perform their jobs to the best of their ability, someone who uses their expertise and knowledge of their field, who is dependable and responsible, and is able to work with others. While this is what I believe a professional to be Monster.com has created a list of 10 ways to be professional at work, I believe that most of us would generally come up with similar answers when asked what we thought professional meant but 3 attributes of a professional that I believe are overlooked that are recommended by Monster are self-upgrading, being positive, and supporting others. When we think of self-upgrading most of us would probably say, “well of course!” but yet many people begin their careers with high hopes and slowly lose their ambition and drive, to be truly professional there needs to be a drive to move not only your company but yourself forward. That passion for forward motion can be contagious and encourage others to do the same thing. The workplace can be very stressful at times and aviation is no exception, losing your temper, or working with a poor attitude affects everyone in the office, likewise keeping a good attitude when things are stressful will not only make you someone everyone likes to work with and set you apart from your peers who become frustrated easily, its important to remember that the bosses want to be around someone with a good attitude as well. Lastly supporting others can be vital to being professional, a lone wolf can come across as arrogant, by working with others it shows them that you value their input and respect their expertise as well.

Professionalism isn't something that we are born with but rather are taught, it can be learned and must be practiced. Three areas that I have taken notice of are my knowledge/ expertise, self-regulation and integrity. Mindtools.com describes specialized knowledge as the first step to becoming professional, I have made it a point to apply myself to the best of my ability in school, not settling for passing grades but aiming for the best grade achievable. Self-regulation is extremely important in the workplace, especially for those looking to impress superiors and move up. For myself, I presently work with several individuals who insist on pushing everyone’s buttons, while I am determined to stand up to these individuals, for myself and for others, I believe it is important to handle each situation in a way that wouldn't hurt my progression in the company, or burn any bridges with the individuals I am having confrontations with. Integrity is another value that I believe to very important, I believe that everyone should have their own self governing rules to live by, principles if you will, living by those self made rules regardless of the difficulty can be the difference between being a classic example of professionalism, and just being another ordinary joe.

In terms of professionalism, even the smallest of things can distinguish someone as a professional, an article on ainonline describes a pilot who decided to go through the preflight checklist by memory, when he was called out on the action his response was “We're all professionals here, we know what we're doing.” (Epstein, 2012) Not only was this little action unprofessional, but his mindset of what is professional shows him to be lacking in that area. I like this example though because it not only shows an attitude that is contrary to the idea of professionalism, but the pilot who called him on not actually using the checklist displayed the courage and responsibility of a true professional.

All in all, while it is difficult to define what professionalism is, when you take a closer look at the topic it becomes a little clearer, respect, honestly, hard work, integrity, and the application of expertise are all things that can be used to describe a professional but the best way to be it, is to practice it.

Epstein, C. (2012, september).umwalt keeps pressure on pilot professionalism. Retrieved from http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2012-09-01/sumwalt-keeps-pressure-pilot-professionalism

Monster Career Coach. (n.d.). 10 ways to be professional at work. Retrieved from http://career-advice.monster.ca/in-the-workplace/starting-a-new-job/10-ways-to-be-professional-at-work-canada/article.aspx

Mind Tools. (n.d.). Professionalism developing this vital characteristic . Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm

Boeing Versus Airbus

Boeing and Airbus have been in competition with each other for years, but, according to Therese Leung, in 1996 when Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged, Boeing and Airbus became the only two large aircraft manufacturers making a duopoly between them that has created a heated competition between the two companies. An article on Watchingamerica.com discusses the complaints that the two companies have filed against each other because of the predicament. In 2005 Airbus filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization due to the subsidized money awarded to Boeing by Washington.

While Boeing has been in business much longer than Airbus, Airbus has given Boeing a run for their money and have had competitive numbers with them for years. According to International Business Times, Boeing only sold 13 more airplanes than Airbus in 2012, however, where Boeing delivered 601 planes 1,203 were originally ordered. Airbus, Meanwhile delivered 588 planes out of 833 ordered closing on more than half of their deals unlike Boeing who closed on barely 50% of their orders. Another advantage that Airbus holds is their price, Boeing might be selling more planes but Airbus is making more off of theirs. According to CNN the price of a Boeing 747-B is $317 million compared to the Airbus A380 which sells for $375 million. The 747 and the A380 are not the only planes that these two companies have in competition, frankly they pretty much go blow for blow but one of the biggest upcoming duels will be the competing 777X and the A350. According to Reuters, Boeing has lost several deals to Airbus in the Asian markets and is hoping to hold onto their remaining contracts but worries, the 777X won't be released until 2020 while the A350 is out in 2015.

In some ways it may seem that Airbus may have the upper hand but on then at times it appears that Boeing does, I don't believe that the relationship between the two will ever be a matter of who comes out on top but will continue to be a cycle that move up and down and where one company may have the upper hand in one area, the other company will be successful in another, an example of this would be the amount of planes that the companies have sold and how many are still flying. According to International Business Times, Boeing has delivered 15, 328 planes since 1974 and Airbus has only delivered 7,877, however only 9,091 of Boeing's airplanes are still flying while Airbus has 6,430 still in operation.

If there is ever to be determined a victor among the two companies it may boil down to their values and how they conduct their business, not who can sell more planes. According to Forbes, Airbus continues their manufacturing with the belief that smaller regional planes that fly connecting flights between smaller cities, is the future of the industry. Boeing operates on the notion, however, that customers should be able to fly where they want to go, at the time they want to go there. In other words there should be no middle man, just one plane that goes from point A to point B. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the next few years, if there will continue to be an increase in regional flights or if more people prefer to fly on larger, point to point aircraft. Personally I believe that domestic flights will continue the trend of smaller regional flights where international travel will provide for the larger flights that Boeing wishes to provide. In the end, I foresee these two companies battling each other for a long time.

Babej, M., & Pollak, T. (2006, May 24). Boeing versus airbus. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/23/unsolicited-advice-advertising-cx_meb_0524boeing.html

Boeing 747-8 vs. airbus a380 -- the airline giants face off. (2011, December 17). Retrieved from http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/boeing-747-8-and-airbus-a380-death-match-152563

Govindasamy, S., & Hepher, T. (2013, October 8). Airbus versus boeing japan battle switches to ana. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/08/us-airlines-japan-boeing-airbus-idUSBRE99713N20131008

Leung, T. (2013, June 3). Duopoly: Boeing and airbus. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/urpxd0mtsr_8/duopoly-boeing-and-airbus/

Mahapatra, L. (2013, June 15). Boeing vs. airbus: Who is selling more planes now and in the past [infographic]. Retrieved from www.ibtimes.com/boeing-vs-airbus-who-selling-more-planes-now-past-infographic-1308499

It's airbus vs. boeing: Largest trade war in wto history may have just begun . (2005, June 01). Retrieved from http://www.watchingamerica.com/eldiarioexterior000004.html

General Aviation in China

While the rest of the world has been enjoying the benefits of General aviation for years now, GA is the one thing that China is behind everyone else on. There are many reasons that the GA industry has not grown in China including restrictive regulations, limited airspace, and heavy taxes on GA, but, according to the Wall Street Journal, one of the biggest reasons is that the airspace in China is controlled mainly by the military. In the last few decades, however, China has been working to bring their GA sector up to par with the US and have seen considerable growth in the last several years, and several US manufacturers have joined forces with Chinese businesses to make this happen.

According to Booz & Co. some of the companies that have created joint ventures in China include Harbin, Embraer, and Cessna, who is working with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in developing a 162 Skycatcher for the Chinese market. American manufacturers have made growth easier in China, joint ventures between companies make funding easier and help young Chinese companies access to experience. But it's not just US manufacturers that are helping the industry grow, the Friends of China GeneralAviation say that China has become aware of the potential for GA benefits, including emergency transportation, and business aviation, many of the benefits that General Aviation can provide are needs that the Chinese are in need of due to their booming economy, not only are there more business needs because of growing companies but more and more people are able to afford to fly as a hobby in China. According to Friends of Chinese General Aviation China has been adopting many US policies and regulations for their GA program but are still working out issues with their airspace which might continue to slow down their growth if they are unable to come to an agreement with the Chinese military. While GA is growing in China is creates many opportunities for them it does benefit us as well, for one, manufactures are able to tap into a new market and generate sales, and consequently those companies opening shop across seas creates jobs. According to Airbus, Airbus China is the only Airbus training facility in Asia Pacific and creates jobs for trainers, and engineers alike. Because the facility is the only one in the area every company is the area that flies Airbus sends their, Maintenance, Flight, and Cabin crews to Airbus China for training which not only creates revenue for the American manufacturer but creates good training opportunities for American pilots going to China looking for work in their growing commercial industry. While China is booming and their GA sector is growing, it is American companies that are helping them along and benefitting from their need for good aircraft and training.

Airbus. (n.d.). Opportunities in china. Retrieved from http://www.airbus.com/work/experienced-candidates/opportunities-in-china/

FCGA. (n.d.). General aviation in china —an overview. Retrieved from http://www.gochinaga.com/GAInChina.htm

Jackson, C. (2012, May 09). China's general-aviation flight of fancy. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304451104577391650977428024

MacCorkle, J., & Wong, T. (2009). General aviation in china seizing growth opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.booz.com/media/file/General_Aviation_in_China.pdf