M & A Rainmaker

I suppose that rural, regional, countryside airports are in my blood although in my case they are military ( Royal Air Force ) airfields.

I was born on R.A.F. Wattisham ( an R.A.F. and  U.S.A.A.F. –  479th Fighter Group – airfield ) near Stowmarket in Suffolk, England because my father was an aircraft technician in the R.A.F. and then moved with him and my mother to various R.A.F. stations in the U.K. and Germany – e.g. Colerne, Hullavington, Gaydon, Oldenberg, Geilenkirchen, Gütersloh , Church Lawford.

These were just a few of the many R.A.F. stations that existed in the U.K. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_RAF_stations ) and Germany ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force_Germany ) in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Many of these airfields became private when the Ministry of Defence disposed of them. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_the_United_Kingdom )

My reintroduction to the world of the private, countryside airfield came when building my I.T. company, Voyager, and we had our first office in Wellesbourne House , Warwickshire near which was Wellesbourne Airfield (   http://www.wellesbourneairfield.com/ ).

Wellesbourne House became the centre of operations and Head Office for our growing I.T. company.

and we gradually took over a large portion of the business park with our main offices in Wellesbourne House itself. Wellesbourne House had a very appropriate U.K. and U.S. connection as we expanded our operations to London and New York. ( Wellesbourne House had belonged to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliette_Gordon_Low – the founder of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. ).

One of our salespeople was also a private pilot and had a share in a Cessna single engine plane. We had decided that we would entertain some of our customers from London City Banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch by taking them to the iconic sailing event,Cowes Week, based from the Isle of Wight ( 2 of the Directors of Voyager were keen yachtsmen ).

Whilst most of our customers would make their own way to Cowes we would fly down to Elstree ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elstree_Airfield ) pick up one of our customers and then fly on down to Sandown ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Wight/Sandown_Airport ).

Elstree Airport

Sandown Airport

Sandown Airport is right by the sea.

Elstree Aerodrome originates from the 1930’s and 40’s when there was a Country Club and polo ground on the Aldenham House Estate and many of the polo players had their own aircraft (  http://www.firecrestaviation.co.uk/documents/History%20of%20Elstree%20Aerodrome.pdf ) like the Puss and Leapord Moth.

Leopard Moth

The flight from Wellesbourne to Elstree and then on to Sandown and back is a story in it’s own right and part of the folklore of Voyager.

As we drove from Wellesbourne House to Wellesbourne Airfield you could imagine Juliette and her husband doing the same thing ( in a slightly older vehicle ! ). They often travelled from Wellesbourne to London.

Certainly they loved horses and polo. Maybe they also like yachting

so a trip to the Isle of Wight was not out of the question either. Elstree is of course famous for it’s film studios ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elstree_Studios ) and in the 50’s were owned by Douglas Fairbanks Jnr ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Fairbanks_Jr ) so it is likely that famous film actors and actresses flew into Elstree Airodrome.

The use of regional private airports is being boosted by new initiatives like those of

https://socialflights.com/

and

http://ejone.net/

who are encouraging people to try private flights from regional airports instead of the present norm of travelling to huge airports and packing like cattle into ever bigger jets.

Bring the romance, beauty and mystery back into your flight plans !!!

http://www.terminalu.com/travel-news/fly-on-a-private-jet-for-150-with-social-flights/9550/

http://mashable.com/2011/05/24/social-flight/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1753756/social-flights-puts-private-flying-within-reach-of-the-everyday-traveler

No !! – I don’t charter private jets every day but I had a couple of experiences with chartering private airplanes and helicopters and flying in small aircraft that got me interested in this area.

Recently I found that 2 of my friends were involved in this area:

Jay Deragon with https://www.socialflights.com/

and Thomas Power with http://ejone.net/

although both of these are combining business networking with private jet charter.

http://www.jetsplanes.net/private-jet-charter/

A few years ago some friends and I chartered a jet ( actually a turbo-prop on the way out and a 737 –  I think – on the way back ) to go skiing in Switzerland & France and we flew from Coventry airport to Geneva airport  and back.

I remember that the turbo-prop was actually owned ( leased ? ) by a motor racing personality ( can’t remember which one for the moment ) – don’t know who owned the 737.

A friend of a friend ( both of whom came skiing with us ) had arranged these flights ( one was an event organiser )

http://www.infobarrel.com/Corporate_Private_Jet_Travel_Options

When we were flying we had time and the opportunity to visit the cockpits and talk to the pilots and crew. Some of the conversation was about the fact that there were planes, pilots and crews ” sat around ” all over the world.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/recession/3401080/The-budget-airline-graveyard.html

The planes need to be chartered in order to provide a return on their owners investment and the pilots need flying hours and trips because that’s what they like to do and because more experience means a better job. Pilots and crews spend a lot of time on ” stand by “.

There seems to be an opportunity here – albeit a fairly complicated one:

There are people who want to fly from A to B who are prepared to pay a certain amount for the flight and there are planes, pilots and crews available.

I am not professing to be an aviation expert but a bit of Googling around gives you a sense of what is going on in the industry.

The last few years ( say 2008 on ) have been very difficult for the whole industry. Many airlines have laid people off ( pilots, crew and ground crew ) and some have gone bust.

The future appears somewhat rosier and the demand for pilots and crews is increasing, particularly in the Middle East, India and China.

http://www.tourismandaviation.com/news-11167–_Gulf_carriers_expansion_plans_buffeted_amid_scramble_to_recruit_enough_qualified_pilots_

although I thought this was an interesting summary from a pilot on a forum

http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-69486.html

” I currently fly a small aircraft for a corporation. The market right now is terrible. Major airlines can pay the bucks, but the glory days of aviation are over. It is very difficult to get hired at a major airline. There are many other flying jobs than just airlines, though. Corporate, aerial mapping, ag, freight, charter, air ambulance, ect.

It will cost you around $40-50,000 to get your private through commercial ratings. Traditionally, you build flight hours by becoming a flight instructor. Instructors don’t make very much money. After you build enough hours, you try to get hired by a freight operator or a as a first officer with a regional airline. First year regional FO salaries range anywhere from $14,000 to $20,000 per year.

Aviation is a very unstable way to make a living. When the economy is bad, oil prices are high, or there is a terrorist attack, aviation is the first thing to feel it. Right now there are thousands of pilots on furlough from airlines.

Don’t get into aviation for the money. You will be dissapointed. Do it because you really like to do it. Don’t believe any of the nonsense you see in flight school advertisements about pilot shortages. There will never be a pilot shortage because there will always be pilots willing to work for next to nothing.

This is only a brief summary. I am writing this to let people know what they are really getting into before they decide to spend the time, effort, and money on becoming a commercial pilot. It is not as glamorous as most people think it is. ”

http://globalexpressair.com/roster.html

It would appear then that there is going to be a high demand for planes, pilots and crews in 2012 and beyond and you actually wonder where all of these trained people are going to come from ??

Right at the moment it would seem that there is plenty of spare capacity in all the areas.

Aside from social flights and ejone there are other companies matching plane and crew capacity to customer demand e.g.

http://www.charterjets.com/

Most people ( potential customers ) probably don’t even think about private charter believing it to be way out of their price range.

Actually there are some situations where chartering a whole airplane can be very cost effective – not to mention much more convenient and luxurious. ( We drove our cars to Coventry airport, parked close to the runway and then waited a short time in the lounge before boarding the plane and personalised crew service ).

Making people aware that they can buy competitively priced individual seats on private jets is a bit of a challenge but I believe that it will become much more common for people to fly by private jet using the likes of social flights and ejone.