Back in the Black

The revival of commercial air travel has been a massive challenge across the aviation industry this year. Airports are brimming, but aircraft and pilots are sparse, putting extra challenges on MROs to keep aircraft in the sky and ready to go.

I recently got an opportunity to hear from Delta CEO Ed Bastian at an industry event, where he explained these challenges inside his airline and how the company is addressing them now. They’ve taken bold steps to take on these challenges and he expects the airline to be fully back to business no later than summer 2023.

Meanwhile, they’re committed to electrifying half of Delta’s ground equipment by 2025 and opening up career opportunities within the company by eliminating the need for four-year degrees for many leadership positions.

Flexibility and change are not synonymous with the aviation industry; but this shows it’s time to rethink rigid structures that may not make as much sense as they did 30 years ago. The pandemic didn’t make these old ways of doing business obsolete, but it put plenty of pressure on some weak spots in the business operation chain that broke some norms and created ghastly operational consequences for those who wish to ignore what has happened and go back to the old days.

In this issue’s cover story on preventing ground damage, Western Jet General Manager Jason Mann explains that about half of incidents occur from people not paying attention. Mitigating the problems comes from training, modifying shop equipment, rethinking operations and considering all the factors that can prevent an accident from occurring on your ramp.

This lesson could be adopted across all aspects of your organization. Half of your challenges are created by not paying attention and the solution comes from change.

It’s easy for Delta to invest millions in changes to recruit staff and a fleet of new equipment, but smaller organizations have a size advantage that allows them to make change on a quicker scale.

As you look to the future, don’t think about it just in terms of eVTOL, drones, supersonic jets, electric aircraft and hydrogen fueled aircraft. Pay attention to what isn’t getting attention now and find your future in aviation.