Ex-Im: Help or Hinderance

"Boeing’s recent assertion that the appetite of capital markets to fund airliner orders has increased comes as especially welcome news to manufacturers and their customers at a time when other sources of funding seem under pressure."

The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. It assists in the financing of US exports to companies that normally would not be able to get credit in the private sector. In addition the bank provides funds to fill gaps in financing, enabling the export of American goods and services to many markets.

Those in the US aviation industry have levied claims that the financing provided by the Ex-Im Bank amounts to anticompetitive assistance because US organizations are not eligible for the same financing (usually at a significantly lower rate). Fast growing carriers in Middle East and Asian countries are able to access relatively cheap financing, to purchase large US aircraft, which are then used to compete against US companies. It is claimed by US based groups and carriers that foreign companies have a competitive advantage provided by the Ex-Im Bank due to their cheap financing and lower cost structures (cheap labor).

I do not think there is much, if any impact on the US aviation industry due to the actions of the Ex-Im Bank. The majority of carriers receiving the benefits of the Ex-Im Bank pose no threat to US companies due to their inefficient locations relative to the US or because they are operated on routes us carriers do not/would not serve. Furthermore, the argument that because of the financing provided by the Ex-Im Bank US companies are at a disadvantage is false. US companies are able to access credit that is still much cheaper than what the Ex-Im is providing to foreign companies. Also keep in mind the Ex-Im is ensuring (in some part) orders for Boeing aircraft and other US goods continue and grow by tapping new markets, instead driving sales to countries (i.e. Airbus). By offering financing, the Ex-Im is supporting jobs in the aviation industry.

The Future and UAVs

Over the past several weeks, numerous articles have been published on the topic of UAVs and their civil and government/military roles. Focusing first on civil UAVs, several large organizations have publicly announced new ventures using UAVs. Facebook recently purchased a UAV company with the intent on providing Internet to those in rural areas, and Amazon and UPS are trialing package delivery by UAVs. Other civil uses are also include crop-dusting, search and rescue and facility security. It is important to note that the FAA currently restricts the commercial, for money, use of UVAs. Civil operators of UAVs are required to obtain FAA approval, usually an experimental license, to fly UAVs for research and flight demonstrations. Use in Class B airspace is prohibited, except if granted express approval by the FAA. There are no regulations targeting recreational users of UAVs. A recent ruling by the NTSB has cast doubt the FAA’s ability to regulate the use of UAVs, as there is a small amount of expressly written regulations. The limited regulation is posing a challenge to the integration of UAVs into the NAS, which is scheduled to being in 2015 (albeit an incremental approach). The integration is planned in several phases to ensure safety and efficiency. All UAVs operating in the NAS will be required to have “sense and avoid” technologies and will require the development of command and control frequencies and ground control stations. Implementation of UAVs into the NAS poses additional problems the FAA will have to overcome.The growth in UAV traffic is expected to be immense, and may reduce the efficiency of our already congested air space. Due to the military and privacy fears, public perception of drones fairly negative. Many in the general public are not comfortable with the thought of camera-equipped robots flying above their head, even if that thought is not a correct assumption. Organizations and companies will have to fight to earn the publics trust, and prove UAVs do not infringe on privacy. As previously stated, UAV growth is expected to be immense, with the industry expected to be worth $582 billion by 2020. This growth is likely to create many new job positions; UAVJobs offers a modest list of current UAV positions available, expect the number to grow. There are a wide range of positions some of which include human factors analysts, operators, department managers, and mechanics.

As many of us know, UAVs are and have been taking a more prominent role in our military, reducing the number of inefficient planes and soldiers in harms way. A recent budget proposal by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has the military cutting costs and increasing the number of drones in order to realign with current geopolitical and spending constraints. UAVs have proven to be safer and far more efficient to use than standard military equipment, however, as with any military operation errors can be made. Ethical questions of the use of UAVs can be raised because of questionable operations and accidental deaths.  Should the United States fly UAVs into the airspace of sovereign nations? Is enough being done to ensure those being targeted by UAVs are the correct target? I’ll let you, the reader, decided.

Professional Organization Memberships

Professional associations and organizations memberships are extremely beneficial for a number of factors, including professional development and staying ahead with the latest industry news. There are two organizations that I currently belong to due to my career aspirations in aviation management, Women in Aviation and American Association of Airport Executives. Women in Aviation is a non-profit organization that encourages the advancement and success of women in the aviation industry. The organization is not only for women; WAI actively encourages men to join their ranks as well. The AAAE is an organization dedicated to result-oriented representation for thousands of airport management personnel. The AAAE focuses specifically on training and industry information circulation.  The airport management segment of the industry relies heavily on the certification process of the AAAE to ensure employees are significantly trained for their positions.

Women in Aviation offers significant benefits to its members all around the world. WAI publishes its own publication to help disseminate industry news, discuss aviation topics, and highlights women in the industry. The WAI organizes a large annual conference for the purposes of sharing knowledge and experience. There are also many local WAI chapters that a national member can belong to for the same purposes. Education, career placement, and government representation are additional benefits that the WAI offers. American Association of Airport Executives offers similar benefits to the ones offered by WAI, but focus heavily on professional development and training. Belonging to professional organization is extremely important in any industry to remain current on industry news, gain knowledge from others experiences, and for professional development.

Join my LinkedIn Network

Professionalism and The Work Place

The aviation industry offers numerous opportunities for employment, both in the public and private sectors. Going forward I see myself working in the public sector, either for a state or federal agency. One specific area of employment I would enjoy is an Airport Marketing and Communications Manager, such as this position in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Positions such as the one linked to above are offered at a variety of airports around the country, but I find myself looking for employment on either the East or West Coast. An Airport Marketing and Communications Manager manages multiple aspects of an airports marketing program, public relations, media relations, and communications programs. The position requires the development of marketing collateral, serve as the main media contact, and the production of news releases. As the main media contact, Airport Marketing and Communications Managers have to ensure that the information they expend is accurate and does not express personal bias or personnel information. Holding scheduled press conferences and releases allows for the correct phraseology to be used and to prevent off-the-cuff remarks, reducing exposure to lawsuit liability.   

Airport Marketing and Communications Managers are required to demonstrate a very high level of professionalism with their interactions with employees and the public. Professionalism is the mindset that one should remain courteous and honest, adhere to rules and decorum, and follow through with their commitments and responsibilities in the work environment. Within the aviation industry, Colgan Air provides several prime examples of lax professionalism.  The first example comes from Flight 3407, where both pilots engaged in nonessential conversation when the aircraft was under 10,000 ft., violating the sterile cockpit rule and contributing to their inattentiveness to unfurling events.  Secondly, a captain at Colgan falsified weight records so he could fly his overweight aircraft. Both of these examples highlight a disregard for workplace professionalism. I would ensure my professionalism by preventing complacency, in both my work and personal relationships with coworkers. I would also engage in continuous improvement via seminars/workshops offered by the AAAE and other organizations, to have a frontline knowledge of industry trends and information.

NTSB Looks to Tackle Safety Threats

The NTSB recently published an updated version of their Most Wanted List for year 2014. This list highlights issues the agency determines to be top priorities for 2014. Three of these priorities directly relate to aviation, Address Unique Characteristics of Helicopter Operations, Eliminate Distraction in Transportation and General Aviation: Identify and Communicate Hazardous Weather. I will focus on the last two. The NTSB is positioning distractions in the transportation environment as a top priority in ensuring the traveling public remains safe. These distractions include personal devices, integrated technologies, and communications. The NTSB has seen the number of transportation accidents increase sharply, due to distracted operators. One such accident is described when a medical helicopter runs out of fuel because the pilot failed to notice the warning. His failure to be situationally aware was caused by text messaging, and resulted with the deaths of all those onboard as written in the full NTSB report. The NTSB is advocating for more education, stronger enforcement, and laws to try to eliminate distractions. Banning devices only does so much to prevent distractions, educating employees on the consequences of being distracted and what the government/company expects from them increases their diligence.

These three priorities presented by the NTSB are of significant importance to the aviation industry, however there are other topics that could be placed on the list. I do believe that managing distractions are a very important safety topic, whether it is a pilot flying an airplane or a ramp employee driving around a belt loader (I’ve witnessed a guy plow into a 737 radio antenna because he was on his phone). Distractions in the aviation industry can pose an immense safety risk and economic loss. Fatigue is another big issue, as it can create a distraction in the cockpit as well as on the ground. New regulations are now in effect which are designed to combat the threat of fatigue in the cockpit, so I understand why the NTSB wishes to focus on other priorities. The NTSBs other top priority, Identify and Communicate Hazardous Weather, is well placed on the list. The amount of general aviation deaths attributed to hazardous weather is shockingly high and all actions (better training/dissemination of information and information reports) should be recommended/implemented to try to reduce the number of deaths.

To cope with increasing amounts of technology that could pose a distraction, I envision the need for additional training staff. This additional staff would work with employees getting them to understand how distractions create risk and how to better manage the relationship between man and machine. Recommendations by the NTSB to reduce the amount of general aviation deaths may lead to more weather advisory positions, people tasked with organizing reports and analyzing data for trends, training positions, public speakers/presenters, and researchers.

Persistent Problems: Colgan Air

1) Identify and describe at least one other incident of a transport aircraft landing at the wrong airport that has occurred within the last 5 years.

In the past five years there have been several incidents of transport aircraft landing at the wrong airport. In September 2011, Colgan Air Flight 3222 operating as Continental Connection George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) with the intended destination of Lake Charles Regional Airport (KLCH) however the flight mistakenly landed at Southland Field (KUXL). The flight was cleared for a visual approach into KLCH, but landed at KUXL at roughly 10:22 P.M. The article points out both pilots were familiar with this route. Due to the size of the aircraft (Saab 340) and the 5,000 ft. runway at KUXL there was no immediate danger. The airports are roughly nine miles apart and have the same runway orientation of 15/33. There have been similar incidents involving Continental Connection on this route twice before in the 1990s.

2) What are the hazards and complications of making such a mistake?

Landing at a wrong airport poses a hazard to passengers if there is an unfortunate or deadly result due to lack of runway. It also poses a hazard to those on the ground that may be driving/live near an airport if there is a runway overrun or fire. Besides the hazards, landing at the wrong airport causes complications for the company, having to get the passengers and luggage to the proper destination, transport of the aircraft to the intended destination, the resulting public relations nightmare, and safety investigations.

3) Do you believe that there is an identifiable and correctable reason(s) for these mistakes? If so, identify the reason(s). Or do you believe that they are just isolated incidents that have been over-hyped by the media? Why?

I do believe that in the majority of cases where an airplane lands at a wrong airport there is an identifiable and correctable reason. The act of landing at a wrong airport seems to stem from either lack of attention (sterile cockpit rule), spatial disorientation/confusion, or fatigue. All of these factors can be attributed to other causes of incidents/accidents as well, and can be dealt with through training and ensuring crew members get enough rest.

4) Southwest management decided to suspend the pilots involved in the incident at least until the investigation has been completed. Do you agree with this decision? Why or why not? If you are a management major, answer from the perspective of management. If you are a flight major, answer from the perspective of a pilot. This should not influence whether are not you agree with the decision, but rather serve as a platform for your rational.

The decision by Southwest management to suspend the pilots was the proper course of action to take until the investigation is complete. By doing so Southwest is showing their commitment to safety and to the wellbeing of the general flying public. Furthermore, it reduces any chance of criticism of Southwest by the media or competitors (I’m waiting for Spirit to post a cheeky ad on their website about the incident).  After an incident such as this, the pilots that were involved should be suspended for their own wellbeing as well. The pilots are probably under a great deal of pressure right now from the FAA, Southwest, and themselves; it would not be healthy or safe to have them flying.