Disruption in Aviation & Airlines
This decade alone we have witnessed major disruptions in the travel and transportation industries, but has aviation avoided these disruptions? The most prominent disruption/innovation has been in taxiing, with Uber, and in hospitality, with Airbnb. The music industry, banking and e-commerce, telecommunications companies, and media sources have also felt the reckoning of disruptive forces.
With so many long-standing industries being disrupted, is Aviation next on the chopping block? Let’s take a look at some possibilities, and why it more important than ever to get involved with your fellow aviation professionals.
Flight Regulation in Aviation
There appears to be a growing consensus in the aviation community that the rules restricting the foreign ownership and control of airlines are becoming obsolete in an increasingly “open” market; meaning, in layman’s terms, that with increasingly lax international borders the regulations should also adjust (or risk succumbing to disruption). The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) states that “ownership & control rules (O&C) are being overturned steadily by a combination of “cross border joint ventures”, cross border equity investments, & the rising influence of the new markets of China & Asia Pacific…”.
Removal of these restrictions would allow meaningful cross-border mergers and acquisitions on a global scale; which in turn would lead to significant benefits to the airline industry’s economic performance. There has been change in this area and some significant examples of governmental waiving of some rules, though it is highly likely that the rules and regulations will remain durable (as they have for over 70 years).
Disrupting Ticket Sales
The typical aviation or airline ticket purchase usually is gone through the airline itself, that is until 3rd party innovators (or disruptors) recognized the void that this was creating in the marketplace. New, non-aviation retailers that have highly specific data are learning (quite expertly at that) how to exploit the data gathered. Because of the speed and the access that these 3rd party retailers are given, they will quickly take on the role of selling end-to-end travel (of which the airlines will only have one part).
While these retailers have much access to greater amounts of data with relative ease, airlines are confined to their customers alone, which leaves them to oftentimes fight among themselves for more access.
The results of this mean that, while retailers and airlines often come from drastically different backgrounds and fields, airlines become the pipelines for air travel instead of the previous “one stop shops”. Retailers are quickly becoming the newest (and almost exclusive) platforms for sales.
Involvement More Important than Ever
With the turbulence this disruption is bound to create, it defies logic that airlines will be entirely immune to the movement. This is why it is more important than ever to become more involved in the aviation professional community – namely, spreading your physical awareness with other professionals.
One way to expand your presence (and maybe provide a bit of peace of mind) is by attending trade shows with both big name and small businesses in attendance. The big companies may have experience, which will prove vitally important, while the smaller companies may have insights formerly unthought of due to the constant need to improve, innovate, and disrupt.
PBExpo 2019 is the next step. There are hundreds of companies in attendance, all of whom have unique insights formerly unseen. Shaking hands and mingling with these individuals is HOW DISRUPTION IS CREATED! By combining efforts to constantly improve, and innovate, is where the future of the industry lies.
The future lies with PBExpo 2019!
For more information on how to secure a booth or your attendee ticket, visit pbexpo.org or call PartsBase today at 561-953-0700.