AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT
Meeting challenges facing facilities and aircraft management operators
Managing aircraft for clients is a demanding undertaking at the best of times. It’s a 24/7 service that requires a broad range of skill sets and resources, all working in unison to ensure the client is flying safely, on time and on budget..Words: Derek Holter, ACASS
Montreal-based ACASS offers a 24/7 service to its clients.
AIRCRAFT MANAGEMENT
Meeting challenges facing facilities and aircraft management operators
Managing aircraft for clients is a demanding undertaking at the best of times. It’s a 24/7 service that requires a broad range of skill sets and resources, all working in unison to ensure the client is flying safely, on time and on budget..Words: Derek Holter, ACASS
Montreal-based ACASS offers a 24/7 service to its clients.
THE COVID PANDEMIC, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other geo-political and economic factors have had a tremendous impact on the aviation industry.
While no two aircraft management companies, or the situations they encounter, prove to be exactly the same the current landscape presents some universal challenges. But with the right mindset and strategies in place, all these challenges can be overcome.
With that in mind, we thought sharing our own experience here at ACASS might prove interesting and perhaps, illuminating to other management companies, operators and their industry clients.
Staff shortages, maintenance backlogs and parts shortages
We have witnessed first-hand that staff shortages constitute the greatest challenge currently impacting FBOs, MROs, and operators themselves. The post-pandemic ‘great resignation’ has not spared the business aviation industry.
We have come across FBOs that have had to reduce their service hours and/or the volume of aircraft they can provide ground services for due to staff shortages. In some cases, owners and managers are manning front desks and customer service roles to fill in the gaps.
While, thankfully, we haven’t yet experienced a flight delay at an FBO stemming from such situations, we have encountered difficulties securing slots for scheduled maintenance. We have had to be more creative to ensure our fleet is kept on track on each aircraft’s respective maintenance schedule. For example, we sometimes split inspections and maintenance in two sessions or combine them into one.
Pre-planning is essential and helps us predict if we need to book inspections a couple of months earlier than scheduled to ensure we can secure a slot. While this is not always the most cost-effective way of operating, most of our clients prioritise the availability of their aircraft to fly and not have it grounded over cost.
The shortage of parts and the difficulty of securing them – continuing fallout from two years of Covid lockdown – has also been a significant issue. In the spirit of collaboration and effectiveness, there have been times that we have found ourselves assisting an MRO in locating and sourcing parts and directly arranging the shipment to the MRO.
Clients are aware of the challenges the industry is facing and, in most cases, are understanding if you communicate and manage expectations effectively. As an example of just how out of the ordinary things are right now, we were told in one case that there would be a two-year wait to secure a new windshield. When we share this kind of experience with our clients, they get what we’re up against.
We also try to avoid the MROs that are particularly under resourced. This might mean working with more expensive options, but it can be worth it to deliver a project on time. As a global company, we can leverage our relationships with MROs all over the world. If you are able to go beyond your backyard to diversify your resources and relationships with MROs, that flexibility can be very helpful.
“Having good, trusting open relationships with clients makes it far easier to manage costs.”
Certain MROs are contending with aircraft that were parked for lengthy periods due to the pandemic and are now all due for maintenance. With that concurrent to the maintenance staff shortage, it’s a perfect storm for huge backlogs.
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Pilot Shortage
The industry-wide pilot shortage continues to be a significant issue for management companies. With training costs rising and airliners luring pilots away with higher salaries, the pilots that do stay in business aviation are picking and choosing the regions and trips they want to take on.
According to a global survey conducted by JetNet iQ (third quarter, 2022), 75% of North American owners/operators surveyed have had difficulty recruiting and retaining flight crew. In Europe, Latin America, Caribbean and rest of world, that number was just over 50%.
We are fortunate in that we have our own crew recruiting team keeping our in-house database updated, which gives us greater access to pilots. But, like everyone else, we need to think outside the box to attract and retain talent. We have recently formed a steering committee to review and adapt our service, offering what pilots are looking for in terms of compensation and support while on dispatch.
Operators are also investing in pilots with low hours by paying for their training and providing early career mentorship to ensure proper succession in the future. This goes hand-in-hand with the uptick of collaborations with training schools and marketing campaigns promoting business aviation as a rewarding career option. Anticipating tomorrow’s needs and putting plans in place to bridge predictable gaps is a must.
Managing rising costs
Fuel, maintenance, crew salaries, insurance, flight planning … it’s no secret that costs related to aircraft management have risen across the board. Supply chain shortages, claim-driven insurance price increases, pilot supply and demand, increased training expenses, among others, are all factors here.
We do everything we can to stay ahead of the curve: leveraging purchasing power, searching for the most advantageous fuel programmes, etc. But the reality of higher costs is unavoidable and that means that clients are paying more to operate.
In specific circumstances, we may offer a tiered fee structure to address usage, but most of the rising cost is beyond our control. Transparency, education, and communication can help clients understand this. Once they do, they are fine with it. It’s the mystery and uncertainty that causes the angst. Having good, trusting, open relationships with clients makes it far easier to manage higher costs.
Maintaining safety standards
With pilots in such short supply, we have seen some owners hiring pilots with far fewer hours of experience than in previous years. We have also felt occasional pressure from clients to hire a second-in-command (SIC) with fewer hours than required, or to fast track a pilot from SIC to captain.
As an IS-BAO (International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations) Stage 3 organisation, we would never cut corners on safety, nor would any professional management company. When there is any question regarding a pilot’s suitability, we send in a training captain to assess them and make sure the pilot is acceptable and safety is not compromised. But we will not soften our standards in any way to make a situation work.
As with costs, probably even more so here, clients almost always understand and accept a ‘no’ when we are transparent, communicative, and committed to finding an acceptable solution. We have never lost business because we’ve said no to a situation we didn’t consider safe.
Staff shortages represent the greatest challenge impacting FBOs, MROs and operators, according to ACASS. Our profile of the firm’s vice president Zipporah Marmor appears here.
Sustainability and public pressure
Sustainability has become a significant concern in the aviation industry, including business aviation. As the negative impact of carbon emissions and other pollutants on the environment becomes increasingly apparent, public pressure on businesses to reduce their carbon footprint has grown significantly.
According to newspaper The Irish Times; “The number of private jet flights in Europe increased by 64% in 2022 and resulting carbon emissions more than doubled compared to 2021.” Press around statistics like these is not limited to Europe and business aviation is receiving increased scrutiny worldwide as a contributor to air pollution and global warming. Greenpeace has even called for the EU to ban private jets.
While we strictly adhere to all regulatory standards involving fuel use and carbon emissions, it is clear to us that this is not going to be enough if we want to be seen as responsible corporate citizens in the eyes of our clients and the public.
We are currently working with the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and will soon be working with the EU ETS. And eventually, we will work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) CORSIA. (This stands for Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). We are also reviewing a number of non-regulatory, voluntary carbon-neutral and net zero compensation-based programmes.
Although this has not historically been an issue many of our clients have been attuned to, let alone prioritised, we will be taking further actions to ensure we are doing all we can to help our clients reduce their global footprint. Proudly stating we are a carbon neutral business will be a truly exciting new opportunity, allowing us to be innovative and a role model.
About the author
Derek Holter, vice president, Operations, ACASS has 18 years of global business aviation experience spanning charter sales, aircraft management and flight operations. He launched his business aviation career in 2005 with TAG Aviation in Madrid, Spain as a dispatcher supporting worldwide operations for the first aircraft to join the AOC, a Falcon 900EX. In 2006, Holter transitioned to the Charter Sales team where he quickly rose to the rank of Charter Sales and Customer Service manager. In 2009, he served as client responsible manager, handling TAG Aviation Spain’s key accounts. He joined ACASS in 2012 as director of Aircraft Management and 10 years later, took on the role of vice president, Operations.
