COVID's Impact on FBOs
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aviation industry, including how people fly, how aircraft are serviced and how baggage is handled. Joe Petrie, editor-in-chief of Airport Business, talked to APP Jet Center's new CEO Dan Harrow about these changes and what the future of aviation will look like once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
It has been suggested business aviation has an opportunity to grow as a result of the pandemic as charters become more essential and luxury travel continues to grow. Harrow has already started to see this shift.
"During the pandemic, we have seen corporate travel go down some. People are definitely not flying to different cities for face-to-face meetings as much as they used to. But we have seen an increase in charter, especially recently, and many of them have been first time customers," he commented.
Because of this increase in chartered flights, Harrow doesn't think businesses will return to buying business-class or first-class tickets post-COVID.
In addition to the change in how people choose to fly, Harrow has seen differences in how aircraft are serviced as well.
"I would say that maintenance activity is about the same if not a little bit more active than it had been before the pandemic," Harrow said.
Some companies are scheduling their planes for maintenance earlier than they need to because of the lull in air traffic.
Even baggage handling has changed in the aftermath of COVID-19.
"When it comes to baggage handling it really depends on the customer but overall we are seeing fewer hands on bags," Harrow said. "Either the charter operator staff will handle all of the baggage or our line staff will handle all of the baggage. In many cases, customers themselves will carry their own bags."
To hear the full conversation, visit AviationPros.com/21160452
