All In Aviation has a story similar to a lot of small businesses in 2020. They came into the year with a new facility and a lot of high hopes for the company. Then COVID-19 hit putting everything in flux.
The aviation industry has been hit harder than most since the pandemic collapsed the economy. But All In’s new facility at Henderson Executive Airport isn’t a ghost town. In fact, it has added staff and even recently brought two new Cessna 172 Skyhawks to its fleet.
All In President Paul Sallach told me he was shocked by the boom in business. But a lot of people who now have extra time on their hands are pursing their pilot’s licenses and ticking a goal off their bucket list.
General aviation is experiencing a quiet renaissance among the industry. More businesses are using private flying to get around without worrying about safety. In turn, more people learning to fly addresses concerns of less pilots supporting the industry.
The growth also means more jobs. Sallach told me he added more instructors and hired more line techs to take care of sanitation of the airplanes. An industry once wanting for labor is now overflowing.
The additional aircraft allows All In to provide a more palatable price point for more aspiring pilots while still supplying modern aircraft to teach them with. A better price point means more customers.
Sallach said the surge in business inspired his company look at long-term diversification of services going forward, such as aircraft storage. After the training boom ends, it allows flight schools like All In to capitalize on its new customer base and ensure it thrives long after the pandemic is a distant, terrible memory.
The Catch-22 of general aviation success in the decimated industry can be tough to celebrate knowing so many more colleagues across the airfield are suffering through the pandemic. But if nothing else, the success of companies like All In shows the seeds of a bright post-COVID world are being planted and cultivating now so the entire aviation industry will grow back stronger then it ever was.
