Now is the time for the aviation industry to be planning for how we will work together to survive the coming months.
There is a simple causal relationship that describes the likely effect of Covid-19 on the aviation industry. Current flight restrictions are just the tip of the iceberg. There will be a lingering fear that prevents some people from flying after Covid-19 disappears. There will be non-aviation companies that cut their travel budgets because of the economic effects of Covid-19. All of this will lead to fewer flights and less revenue for air carriers. This will spill over into adverse effects on everyone that supports the air carriers: like airports, repair stations, manufacturers, distributors, and all of the people that they employee.
This is not the first disaster to have an unusually significant impact on the aviation industry. We’ve survived terrorism. We’ve survived extreme weather. We’ve survived other diseases, like SARS and MERS. We’ve survived economic recessions. We’ve survived outrageous increases in fuel prices. We’ve survived times of war and times of peace. The aviation industry will survive Covid-19.
And one of the reasons that we continue to survive adversity is our ability to come together in a crisis.
After the terrorist attacks of 2001, the industry faced an existential crisis. Air carriers needed to tighten their belts. They needed to find ways to save money without sacrificing safety. They found a FAA-PMA industry that was ready and willing to support them with cost-savings. This same FAA-PMA industry continues to work on innovations that help air carriers improve reliability and safety.
After the Covid-19 fight restrictions are eased, air carriers will need to earn revenues and cut costs. Air carriers have never been willing to sacrifice safety. This means that they will be relying on the FAA-PMA industry to offer economical solutions that save money, improve reliability, and support safe operations. FAA approval of those PMA articles helps to ensure that the safety and quality never waver.
Just as the PMA industry will continue to support the air carriers in our time of crisis, MARPA will continue to support the PMA industry. This week we will be working to help identify resources to better support our members. We are identifying new ways to communicate with our members, like a potential “virtual conference;” and we are looking at ways to make our existing communications safer, like sanitizing mailers before they are shipped.
Crescit sub pondere virtus.