API In the News

Becoming a Business Aviation Pilot

The opportunity to fly top-of-the-line turboprops and jets in a challenging environment. If becoming a professional pilot to you has meant only the airlines, consider becoming a business aviation pilot as a worthy alternative to Part 121 flying. If you’re new to the industry, the term “business aviation” refers to flying nearly anything that doesn’t involve the airlines or military. That could be a private corporation’s business jet or turboprop, a fractional company such as NetJets or PlaneSense, or flying for a Part 135 charter company. The variety of the fleet is vast, with some companies operating Boeing and Airbus aircraft in corporate configurations. The latest news says the US airline industry is beginning to see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel in terms of passenger demand. Meanwhile, many business-aviation flight crews have been busy while their airline counterparts sat idle. Sheryl Barden, president and CEO of API—the longest-running business-aviation employment company—says: “We’ve seen a whole host of new entrants into the business-aviation marketplace, chartered and fractional shares, as well as people who simply bought aircraft. People who never flew charter before have signed up with jet cards or bought fractional shares. Fractional and charter operations have really exploded, with those companies reporting their best year in a long time as companies try to keep their people off the airlines. Some aircraft owners who might have questioned the value of their aircraft before the pandemic have realized the value [of safe, clean travel] now.” Importantly, Barden says that “quite a few aircraft-management companies have taken on new airplanes and are scrambling to find the personnel to fly them. But they want the right pilots.”   View original article

Can employers require their employees to get a Covid-19 vaccination? What has proven to be a divisive issue among the general population has extended to business aviation, with reports that a few flight operations have mandated vaccination as a condition of employment. “What I can tell you is that I think a very thin percentage – certainly less than 10% – of our [Part 91] organizations today are requiring proof of a vaccine for their flight crews or their passengers,” noted Sheryl Barden. In this episode of NBAA’s “Flight Plan,” host Rob Finfrock speaks with:

• Sheryl Barden, CAM, president and CEO of API
• Greg Reigel, aviation attorney with Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LL
• Dr. Michael Wolf, senior associate consultant in the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and a senior AME

Read the blog   Download podcast episode here

Sheryl Barden, one of our industry’s most acknowledged experts on all things people, is featured in the March 2021 issue of JETNET iQ Pulse. In it, she share insights on the ever-evolving world of the business aviation workplace. As organizations grapple with the most effective means to engage and re-engage with their people – whether they are working remotely or not – Sheryl’s observations on professionalism are timely, classy, and handson practical. Read the original article on Page 3 of the JETNET iQ Pulse newsletter

Companies intent on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) may face challenges to implementing those plans. An NBAA GO Flight Operations Conference session offered perspectives from industry leaders, including API's Jennifer Pickerel. They discussed, among other things how it is often the case that “actions speak louder than words” when evaluating DEI initiatives. See original article

Are there smooth skies ahead? The pandemic created promising new contours for the corporate-aviation market that should continue well into 2021. But the post-virus recovery will test whether industry dynamics have changed for good—or are just one-year wrinkles.

“People still have travel needs they want to meet, and they’re not comfortable with airlines,” says Elis Olsson, director of operations for Martinair, an aircraft-management outfit in Richmond, Virginia. “But the days of having hundreds of private jets lining up at Teterboro Airport [for general aviation, in New Jersey] and no ramps to park them—will that come back?” Here are looks at several of the major dynamics for private aviation in 2021: • Expanding customer base. Virus effects on airlines have brought new corporate customers to the private-aviation fold. “Use of business jets is being pushed lower down into organizations,” says Sheryl Barden, head of Aviation Personnel International. “We’re seeing more engineers going from one plant to another to help with retooling, for example.” Read the full article on the Chief Executive website.

Did The Pandemic Solve The Pilot Shortage? What Lies Ahead For Business Aviation?

Before the pandemic, demand for professional pilots was intense and the long-term outlook predicted severe shortages. The pandemic and decrease in air travel has led to widespread pilot layoffs and furloughs. Did COVID-19 suddenly solve the pilot shortage problem? What lies ahead for business aviation once the pandemic subsides? Will the shortage return? Aviation Week's Molly McMillin talks with API's Sheryl Barden about the business aviation pilot shortage in this podcast.     Download the podcast and/or read the transcript

While the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily eased concerns of a personnel shortage, the business aviation industry needs to continue its focus on workforce development and retention in anticipation of not only full recovery from COVID, but continued growth. Former employees are one often overlooked – or even scoffed at – workforce pipeline. “Boomerang workers” are those who left an organization but want to return. Should companies even consider former employees for open positions? Experts say “yes..." Two top aviation recruiting and staffing experts providing some guidance on how to handle possible rehiring of former employees. “A carte blanche policy never to hire back a former employee is a short-sighted perspective,” said Jennifer Pickerel, vice president of Aviation Personnel International. “This is especially true in aviation, where employees tend to be highly skilled in unique fields. You’re omitting a potentially significant pool of talent prospects.” However, there are times when rehiring isn’t appropriate. For example, in cases of an employee who was terminated for cause. In other situations, the individual might be very talented, but a bad personality fit for an organization. Read the original article about boomerang workers, published in the Jan/Feb issue of NBAA's Business Aviation Insider.