Is Business Aviation Worth It?

Ever since the decline of the economy started over 5 years ago, business aviation was one topic that was consistently debated over and over throughout the country. A company that was short on funding aimed its sights upon the flight department as a quick way to cut costs. This decision was made to reduce the amount of expenses while struggling to increase the amount of income. It was an all too common theme that was seen from car companies to smaller firms.

This topic is an immense issue throughout the general aviation industry that can carry immense consequences. From a business aspect, it seemed to the nation and also to myself that if the company was to cut spending, then the flight department was a logical contender for the “necessary” sacrifice. That was until I read a recently published article on Forbes.com that revealed some interesting facts about business aviation. According to this article, a study of the S&P 500 companies by Virginia-based consulting firm NEXA Advisors LLC found that over a five-year period, companies that used business aircraft had twice the total shareholder return of companies that did not. As quoted from Lars Thrane, founder of Denmark-based global satellite communications company Thrane & Thrane ,“You have the freedom to operate on your own schedule. That’s a necessary part of our business. That efficiency and flexibility is an essential factor in our success.” Companies that did employ a flight department saw significant, positive differences between those companies that did not employ a flight department.

The future of this topic is certain. There will always be a need for business aviation. This is due primarily to the world we live in today. Businesses must be able to operate within a moments notice, and the freedom and security that business aviation allows is the perfect remedy to this need. These aircraft continually drive down operating costs for the business as a whole long-term. Even though the short-term expense to operate these aircraft is relatively high, income has shown through history that these necessary expenses will increase the income of the company long-term.

This topic is significant to my career because it will allow a left seat to always be open. With the majors pushing a hiring boom for the next ten years, this will allow even more left seats to become available as the years progress. Companies will always be in the need of generating income, and with the abilities of the flight departments and business aviation being a viable option, these businesses can and will rely on these positions for a long period of time.