Boeing vs. Airbus

          Boeing and Airbus have emerged to become the two powerhouses in the building of commercial airliners along with other aerospace technologies. Boeing is a publically traded United States based company while Airbus is based in Europe and ran by several partnering countries. Even though they are on two different continents, they compete for the same business in the worldwide aviation market. These two competitors have created a duopoly over the past twenty plus years; shutting most startup companies out before they are able to make an impact.

Boeing and Airbus have competed year after year in airline sales. Their narrow body designs, the A320 and the 737, have been the most obvious competition between the two companies. They still upgrade the plane designs every year to sell them to customers in hopes to sell more than the other. Fuel efficiency seems to be the largest focus for both airline builders. In the jumbo jet market, Boeing has had great success with the 747 while airbus manufactures the “super jumbo” A380. According to Adam Levine-Weinberg, Boeing is trying to upgrade the 747 in hopes to better compete with the A380. Boeing may have the leading edge to date. They have developed the 787 Dreamliner, which sent sales through the roof, even though it was delayed much longer than expected. According to Adam Levine-Weinberg, Boeing has a better grasp on composite technology. Airbus is still trying to develop ways to use this technology, but is not as advanced as Boeing.

Both Boeing and Airbus have planes flying throughout the world. Boeing has more than 12,000 planes currently in service compared to only 7443 that airbus currently has flying (Boeing)(Airbus.com).  Airbus is a European based company employing more than 63,000 people. Boeing is a United States based company employing almost 171,000 employees. With these statistics alone, you can assume that Boeing has a leading edge both in size and amount of planes in service. Why would Boeings statistics almost double that of airbus? There could be many factors that play into this. Marketing could be one of the largest contributors to Boeings success. It is rumored that Boeing may even use negative situations such as that of a pilot shortage to a marketing advantage. Another reason could be location and political power. Airbus is backed by European nations which would give them the advantage in that market, where as Boeing is located in the U.S. where there is a very strong political backing.

These two companies have not shown any signs of slowing down in the near future. I believe they will only continue to grow and sell more aircraft with increasing technologies being developed and integrated every year. It will be almost impossible for a startup company to compete with Boeing and Airbus on a size and economic scale. The duopoly they have created will dominate the worldwide aviation community for years to come.

 

 

Levine-Weinberg, Adam. "Boeing and Airbus Step Up Their War of Words." (BA). N.p., 17 Aug. 2013.

Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/08/17/boeing-and-airbus-step-up-their-war-of-words.aspx

"About Us." Boeing: Commercial Airplanes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

http://www.boeing.com/boeing/companyoffices/aboutus/brief/commercial.page

"Orders & Deliveries."  | Airbus, a Leading Aircraft Manufacturer. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

                http://www.airbus.com/company/market/orders-deliveries/

"Boeing 747-8 vs. Airbus A380 -- the Airline Giants Face off." CNN Travel. N.p., 17 Dec. 2011. Web.

               28 Oct. 2013.

http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/boeing-747-8-and-airbus-a380-death-match-152563

General Aviation in China

In today’s world, China has begun to venture into markets in which they have very little previous experience. China’s aviation involvement has grown rapidly over the recent years. Currently, they are the fastest growing region in the world. It is only fitting that China would sooner or later begin to venture into the general aviation field. China has begun to acquire U.S. general aviation companies such as Cirrus, Continental aircraft engines, Epic Aircraft, Superior AirParts, Thielert diesel engines, Brantly, and Enstrom Helicopters. Cirrrus CEO Dale Klapmeier notes that, “owner China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) is committed to supporting the company’s development efforts and that the Vision is among several products on the drawing table” (Aviation week, 2013). Another U.S. general aviation company that has aircraft built by Chinese companies is Cessna. The Cessna skycatcher is built by a Chinese company, and they have said they will start producing jets in the near future. With China able to build and produce aircraft at a rapid rate, it will make it hard for U.S. companies to stay competitive.

Flying in general has become much more accessible in China over the past 15 years. With the amount of money and people that China currently has, you would think that aviation would have been integrated a long time ago. According to AIN online, the largest issue with general aviation growth in china is that the Chinese military has control over the airspace and currently only about one third of the airspace is available to general aviation to use, due to it being under an experimental phase. Once certain airspace restrictions are lifted, general aviation in China will grow at an extremely rapid rate. They are a competitive people and looking to be number one in acquiring businesses, resources, and products that would allow them to achieve and maintain super power status in the world.

With China looking to build up their general aviation, it will require more employees to work at these general aircraft companies. All types or production, line, engineering, etc.  positions should increase at a tremendous rate for a quite some time. Training facilities will also need to be established, which will require trained pilots to train new pilots. The job market in this field should be a bright one for those that do not have a problem with relocating in order to get one of those new positions. China still has a ways to go before they are on the same level of general aviation regions such as North America and Europe. They are taking all of the necessary steps to position themselves to be world leader and future producer of general aviation aircraft.

 

                                                       References

Morris, John. "Will China Be the Savior of U.S. General Aviation?" Will China Be the Savior of

U.S. General Aviation? N.p., 30 July 1013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckPostId=Blog:7a78f54e-b3dd-4fa6-ae6e-dff2ffd7bdbbPost:f2d6a878-a26b-40b4-b8ff-f0b6c5f52c00

Thurber, Matt. "Jason Liao Sees Rapid Growth For General Aviation In China." Aviation

International News. N.p., 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/abace-convention-news/2013-04-17/jason-liao-sees-rapid-growth-general-aviation-china

"China Continues Low Altitude Airspace Trial for General Aviation." Latest World Aviation

News, Airline News, Analysis & Research. N.p., 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/china-continues-low-altitude-airspace-trial-for-general-aviation-63297

Qiyu, Feng. "General Aviation: A Promising Market for Future--China Economic Net." General

Aviation: A Promising Market for Future--China Economic Net. N.p., 3 Sept. 2013. Web.

20 Oct. 2013. http://en.ce.cn/Insight/201309/03/t20130903_1322107.shtml

Corporate Aviation

Corporate Aviation

In today’s business world corporate aviation is relied on to move employees, sensitive cargo, etc.  There are many critics in the world that believe corporate aviation is unnecessary and a waste of money. There are many that believe companies should send their executives and employees via commercial aviation. What many do not realize is just how vital corporate aviation truly is to a company. According to No Plane No Gain, “three percent of all commercial aviation is cancelled and nearly one quarter is delayed.” This can hinder a corporations schedule if an employee needs to be in another city without delay. According to public perception, corporate jets only carry high paid executives to destinations even when the company cannot afford it. However, according to an NBAA survey, “72 percent of the passengers aboard corporate jets are not executives.” Corporate aviation helps the entire company to succeed and strive forward as long as the company uses it for the right reasons.

Corporate aviation also allows companies to connect to cities that are unreachable by commercial aviation. There are many companies that have built factories and headquarters in small towns which are served by small airports and cannot be utilized by large airplanes. There are many towns across the nation, that are dependent on these factories to survive. If a company needs to send employees or special packages fast, they would not be able to without a small jet. Without a corporate jet they would have to fly into a major city and then have to take a car, sometimes hours to reach their destination. The hours lost could potentially cause the company business. Business aviation serves ten times the number of airports across the U.S. than commercial aviation. Corporate aviation helps the economy by connecting the corporate world to the five thousand plus airports/communities that it serves in the United States.

Feeding the public’s negative perception of corporate aviation, President Obama has stated that he does not believe that business jet owners deserve a tax break. He stated that “people buying jets should not deserve an extra tax break when ordinary people cannot afford the same luxury.”  In my opinion this tax encourages the people who can afford jets the incentive to buy one. If this tax break is taken away, there will be fewer jets bought which would affect the number of jets built. This could once again threaten jobs and cause more unemployment. The NBAA and GAMA have taken the other side and are trying to reinforce the importance of personal and corporate jet ownership.

The corporate companies use accelerated depreciation to write of these big purchases at an accelerated speed.  Allowing the company to write a jet off faster would allow them to save taxes on money earned. This would in turn possibly allow the company to make other purchase or put money back into the company where needed. It is part of the stimulus package because it helps the company and could also create more jobs if the company is able to grow.

All in all, I believe that corporate jets are a vital part to aviation as well as the business world. As long as companies do not abuse these luxuries, it will overall help the economy. Hopefully the general public will one day start looking at the positives effects instead of only focusing on the few negative cases of corporate aviation.

 

References

"Warren Buffet and Business Aviation Facts | No Plane No Gain." Warren Buffet And Business

Aviation Facts | No Plane No Gain. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

http://www.noplanenogain.org/Advocacy_Tools.htm?m=47&s=407#.UlrzWBbD_IU

"Obama Defends Ending Corporate Jet Tax Break." USA Today. Gannett, 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Oct.

2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/02/21/obama-corporate-jets-tax-break-wichita/1935861/

"Accelerated Depreciation." Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

                http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accelerateddepreciation.asp

Kauffmann, Chris. "Aviation Firms Fighting Mad over Corporate Aircraft Criticism." Widgets RSS. N

             .p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/02/23/story14.html?page=all

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) are becoming very popular for various reasons. These aircraft are mostly used in military settings such as for reconnaissance missions and strike/bombing missions. These aircraft are operated from a designated location where the “pilot” operates the aircraft from a control room. It is almost as if the “pilot” is playing a video game. UAV’s have become increasingly popular over the recent years because there is little to no human risk if the plane goes down.

As of right now there are not any regulations when it comes to unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has only “accommodated” this type of technology. It is going to be hard since there has never really been a situation like this in the past. Ballinger of the FAA says “that at any given moment there is approximately seven thousand aircraft flying in the skies over the United States. The most difficult task is to figure out how to incorporate UAV’s safely into the National Aerospace.” It is going to take them a great deal of time to put rules and regulations in place. It could also potentially take just as long to get the aviation public to adopt and recognize the regulations when they are finally put into place.

I believe one of the initial courses of action for the FAA is develop a training program as well as mandate that all UAV pilots are certified and possibly even type rated. According to UAV MarketSpace, “as of 2005 there are no certificate requirements for UAV pilots and not one civilian training center based in the United States.” Most UAV pilots are trained in the military and/or were hired out of a University sometimes holding an engineering degree. The United States Air force promotes the view that only a qualified pilot can operate a UAV, but this is not the case in the civilian world.

If UAVs is where the aviation future is heading, then I see the FAA making the necessary regulation and requirements to be put into effect sooner than later. I believe that a pilot of a UAV should be qualified and licensed just like all other pilots. Even though there are not human lives at stake on a drone, they still pose a potential threat to manned aircraft in the same vicinity. The “pilot” flying the drone needs to understand that it is not just a video game and that there is a potential threat to civilian lives aboard other aircraft. I am not quite certain as to how the general public will welcome unmanned aircraft commercially, but with growing technology it is always a possibility that UAVs are the future of aviation.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Editor, T. (March 29, 2013). UAS “Accommodated” – Not Integrated into US National

Airspace – FAA Official. UAS Vision.

http://www.uasvision.com/2013/03/29/uas-accommodated%E2%80%9D-not-integrated-into-us-national-airspace-faa-official/

Bauer, J. NASA: Integrating UAVs into the National Aerospace System. NASA.

            http://uvs-info.com/phocadownload/05_3g_2005/10_NASA-ACCESS5.pdf

Civil UAV Pilot Certification. Developing Commercial UAV Applications. UAV MarketSpace.

            http://www.uavm.com/uavregulatory/pilotcertificationandhumanfactors.html

Williams, K.W. (2007) Unmanned Aircraft Pilot Medical Certification Requirements. Federal

Aviation Administration. https://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/ua-pilot.pdf