Generally speaking, I’m a curious person. I like to understand the “why” behind things. Like, all things. And I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, which can make my understanding “why” difficult, so I usually have to find a pretty simple way to explain things. Mostly for myself, you know? And you know what usually helps? You know what’s really good at explaining and supporting things? Numbers. Well, numbers and some context for them. Which is exactly what I have for you today.
Not only is the data pretty interesting on its own, but it starts connecting most of the concepts we’ve discussed thus far, our company, what we do, our fleet, program types, and my other random musings, but it also really……really reinforces the level of transparency with which we operate. So, we know how our charter company operates, the specific programs we offer, how those programs vary, the types of aircraft in the fleet, and how they meet (various) travel needs. It’s been a lot, and there’s times where I wonder how I’ll pull it all together. Fortunately, I don’t really have to because the numbers do it for me.
I took a look at flights over the last 12 months, took a randomized sampling of 1,000 flights, and sorted by some of the primary considerations in scheduling: aircraft type(s), destinations, length of stay, etc.). Here’s what I found:
- Primary states for travel are:
- Nebraska (duh)
- Iowa
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Arizona
- Florida
- Over 55% of flights depart from the Omaha/Lincoln metroplex.
- Over 500 unique destinations (for context, there’s about 4,900 public-use airports in the US).
- Average live leg was ~400 nautical miles (think Omaha to Chicago).
- Breakdown by aircraft type (rounded):
- Turbo Propellor – 23%
- Light Jet – 44%
- Mid-sized – 31%
- Super-mid – 2%
- 90% were three nights or fewer.
- There is clear seasonality seen on a month-by-month basis.
You know what this information supports? The expansion of our fleet through light and mid-size this year (light being priority, mid-size second priority, and turbo prop more opportunistic), the geographic markets we watch for base expansion (and the one(s) we’ve already begun moving into), our core demographics (buyer persona) being spot on, and the experience we deliver based on those things.
I share this for many reasons. We see our relationships with customers as partnerships, most in our industry don’t/won’t, it’s a thing that’ll make you go “hmmmmm,” and it’s an opportunity to pull back the covers a bit. Frankly, I don’t get why our industry is so secretive. The way I see it, I can give competitors in our space the ingredients, I can give them the recipe, and they still can’t do what we do the way we do it. What we do isn’t secret. Why we do it isn’t a secret. Why treat the things that drive them like they are? We’re here to connect people to places, and make money and have fun along the way. Plus, building in public is fun. It builds engagement. It builds loyalty. Most importantly, it builds authentic connections and helps people feel “more than”. More than just a customer. More than the proverbial “number”. You’re a part of our journey as much as we’re apart of yours. Because that’s what partnerships are.
Long story short, if you’re ever thinking about private aviation personally, for a business, or just have idle questions, call me. What you read here is very much what you get.
Lates,
Mark