AIN 2011 Year-End Report
Orville and Wilbur got things airborne just over one hundred years ago, and for the most part it has been a reasonably steady climb-out. But don’t try to sell that to today’s aviation executives. More than three years have passed since the Great Recession began, and an increasing number of my business colleagues are telling me they are tired of hunkering down. So am I. But these times are the cards we’ve been dealt, so rather than become demoralized let’s see where we are and how we might get to a better place.
The economy’s downturn affected the three sectors of aerospace we cover — business/general aviation, airlines and defense — to differing degrees. The defense sector (15 percent of our business) survived almost unscathed but now faces severe budgetary pressures. (I have a contrarian view here and believe the defense cuts being discussed will not materialize to the extent many people think.) The airline sector (20 percent of our business) also has weathered the economy’s decline well, with carriers pulling back capacity but increasing yields and profitability. They are ordering the latest-model, fuel-efficient jets at record rates.
Founder & Chair Emeritus
