Aside from getting our best celebration wardrobes pressed and shined for NBAA-BACE 2023, which opens on October 17 in Las Vegas, how are you getting ready for this wonderful event? At our company, we are making a list and checking it twice. Picking up the phones and making the key calls to industry players and thought leaders to be sure we have time carved out to meet and reacquaint ourselves with friends and business associates.
There are so many opportunities to shape not just the rest of our year, but also years to come. There are challenges to find solutions to, as well as business opportunities to shape and nurture. I know I personally have so many questions to ask those I meet up with and hope to be asked important questions by those that come up to me and my team at the event.
While reviewing my recent webinar topics and articles, I have looked at those topics that might be at the top of the minds of attendees as well as readers. Using these topics, we are building the thought leader list of people we want to talk to in Las Vegas. It would be a shame to come home from this event without answers and solutions to the most troubling scenarios we are all talking about.
Pilot recruitment and retention are critical to clients who are either first-time buyers or transition clients who cannot be without these vital team members but are hampered by the time to get in the air based on long lead times for training slots. Of course, contract pilots can help on a short-term basis, but they are not long-term solutions. I hope to be eye-to-eye with the major training facilities, as well as contract pilot providers, to seek out solutions to speed up the in-service timeline concerning training.
Another relevant topic on everybody’s mind is the longer-than-usual time to schedule and begin prebuys at inspection facilities. How are the MROs and facilities working behind the scenes to shorten this? Can we get creative about tying up slots when we first put planes on the market rather than waiting to get a deal to begin to find a slot? This solution will take a concerted effort from all involved: the sellers, buyers, MROs, and technical personnel.
Here’s another one that catches the attention of us all: the obsolescence of avionics vis-a-vis the entire category of aging aircraft. This year we will be talking to as many providers as we can to best understand the reality of repair opportunities, as well as the shelf supplies of these problematic systems, monitors, and cabin management switching, to name a few.
These are just a few thoughts to get your own set of questions built and your own important list of meetings to set. There is no shortage of areas of concern to address. There are also real celebrations to be had at NBAA-BACE. Hugs, hellos, and catching up. Smiles and pats on the back.
I am sure we will also use this time to remember people we have lost this past year. Even those remembrances can be joyous. Our company is going en masse and will spread out to say as many hellos as possible. We hope to come home enlightened and educated. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Jay Mesinger is the CEO and Founder of Mesinger Jet Sales, an international aircraft brokerage firm. With 49 years of successfully buying and selling aircraft, Mesinger Jet Sales has a global reputation for personalized, transparent service.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by AIN Media Group.