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Old 2nd Oct 2019, 22:14
  #57 (permalink)  
Vag277
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Sunshine Coast
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General Aviation – its own enemy?
“It was realised by the committee that expansion of the order of recent years could not continue indefinitely and that some form of consolidation would finally hit the industry. This has indeed been most general throughout Australia and it appears to have affected the eastern States more than WA. There is a need for new thinking and the industry, during the next years or so, will no doubt witness substantial changes.”

Many contributors here suggest that the downturn in GA has its genesis in the actions of governments and commercial enterprises and the resulting increase in costs and loss of facilities. These concerns also included what has become almost a tradition in GA – the statement that it was all better in the days of DCA and Sir Donald Anderson.
I believe that it is time that GA joined the beginning of the 21st century and stopped languishing in the middle of the 20th. Government policies, public expectations, the economy and business effectiveness have changed. Unfortunately, a culture within GA of blaming everyone else for the effects of these changes is blinding us to what we must do to catch up.

First, let’s understand the significance today of the era of DCA and Sir Donald Anderson. Over the period of Anderson’s tenure as Director General, (1956-1973) there are some aviation and significant non-aviation factors that need to be considered:

· the country as a whole was emerging from the economic effects of a global war.
· regional infrastructure (including sealed roads) was limited and motor vehicles were only just beginning to approach the comfort and capability we enjoy today.
· the Australian aircraft fleet grew from 903 aircraft to approximately 4,000. Today there are in the vicinity of 18,000 when the RA-Aus fleet is included.
· unemployment from 1940 to 1970 was between 1%-3%
· the share of Gross Domestic Product from mining went from 50% to 70% with attendant growth in air travel to remote areas
· the proportion of GDP from agriculture declined from nearly 20% to less than 5%

In 1959 the Parliament passed a Bill allowing the granting of leases for businesses on airports. This was intended to ensure some economic return on the funds invested in airport development. It was also a continuation of the cost recovery process begun in 1947 when airways charges were introduced for the first time.

By the end of the sixties things were beginning to change even more. The Federal Government announced that after several years of discussing the issue, the flying training subsidy scheme would be closed down. This had been in place in various forms since 1924. The subsidies were introduced to encourage the early development of the industry, then to support military training and then again to support growth in the post war period.

With the removal of the restrictions on training arising from funding eligibility rules and the creation of a level (although perhaps uneconomic) playing field the number of flying schools began to increase beyond the former aero club group of 43 with 177 aircraft. The records of the aero clubs at the time reflect concern over considerable loss of earnings as a result of the loss of the subsidised training of commercial pilots and many were recording financial losses.

Since the early 1970s there have been many more changes in the world in which we live and operate. A succession of governments, from both sides of politics, have identified public support (or at least only fractured opposition) to the concept of cost recovery for, and privatisation of, a huge range of services and facilities. These were previously accepted as the responsibility of government with funding coming from the entire tax paying public. However, Australian society was changing, the economy had blossomed and individuals who had not seen economic depression – the baby boomers- were flexing their political and economic muscles.

One of the most significant changes was the dramatically increasing range of choice in almost all aspects of life. This could be perceived as the start of a new world for general aviation. It is possible that understanding and dealing with such changes is the key to success in general aviation.

With this increase in choice, together with increasing disposable incomes, marketing of opportunities to buy new experiences has blossomed. Whether they be in domestic or international travel, sports cars, extreme adventure sports or substantial mortgages, marketing has become critical. Despite the marketing of almost anything appearing everywhere we look, when did you last see an advertisement of any sort for flying training or aircraft charter outside an aviation magazine or tourist brochure rack? It is a fundamental rule of any business selling a product, that no one will buy the product if they don’t know what it is or where to find it.

People with businesses in general aviation regularly lay blame for their parlous economic state on government, the regulator, big business or any other target of opportunity. Sure, better roads, better motor cars, airfares lower than ever dreamed of in the ‘70s and several years of drought have had dramatic impacts on many parts of GA. In some cases those reductions in activity might be irrecoverable because what displaced them is cheaper and more convenient. Despite this, there are general aviation businesses that are succeeding and growing. The fleet of aircraft, which grew from 900 to 4,000 in the Anderson/DCA era of 17 years, has grown to around 18,000 in the subsequent 30 years and people still learn to fly.

GA might be succeeding in spite of itself. When was the last time the participants in industry worked together to:
· identify and quantify credibly the contribution the sector makes to the economy and community well being?
· promote aviation as a challenging, rewarding and enjoyable recreation?
· create an impression of being a well organised, professional and enthusiastic group?
It is unlikely that we will see sustained and widespread improvement if we do not understand and penetrate the market represented by the entire population of what is a very prosperous country.

To provide some credence to these ideas, the quote at the beginning came from the annual report of the Royal Aero Club of WA in 1967-68.
Bibliography
Ayris, C.Wings of Chamge Royal Aero Club of Western Australia, Perth 1999
http://www.casa.gov.au/casadata/register/graph.htm
http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/110/PDF/round3.pdf
Parnell, P. & Boughton, T. Flypast AGPS Press , Canberra 1988
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