Sport Aviation Marketing

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September 3rd, 2005

Change is in the air – literally.
It is an exciting time for the sport aviation industry. The sport pilot rule is now one year old, the support from organizations like the EAA and AOPA is strong, and momentum continues to build. The promise of new categories of aircraft and pilot certification are quickly becoming a reality. Along with this new reality comes incredible opportunity and challenges for all businesses in the sport aviation industry.

Factor #1: A new market is here.
The new sport pilot rule will make flying a reality for countless people. During Airventure 2005 alone nearly 400 sport pilot student certificates were issued. As the infrastructure becomes available to train these students, an entirely new market will open up to the sport aviation industry.

Factor #2: The current fleet is aging fast.
The Pipers and Cessnas that most of us learned to fly in are not getting any younger. New design and construction technologies have increased performance and safety over the last 30 years and it is time to leverage those advances. The success of Cirrus illustrates that the appetite for new designs is abundant. LSA has the potential to make technologically advanced designs affordable for the masses.

Factor #3: New avionics add functionality and safety.
The last few years have witnessed an explosion of new instruments to replace the traditional steam gauges. The new glass cockpits are affordable (becoming more so everyday) and enhance safety by providing relevant information to pilots in a meaningful way. Everyone is interested in these new instruments and as prices continue to fall the demand will be met.

Factor #4: New services are needed.
All of these factors also result int he need for new services. Already the sport pilot rule has created high demand for training with no infrastructure to support it. Aircraft categories such as the LSA and E-LSA will also lead to new support services such as transition training, maintenance support and aircraft accessories.

Factor #5: New competition is here.
As a result of the sport pilot rule, more than a dozen new S-LSA certified aircraft hit the marketplace in just a few months. Dozens more are on the way. Once final standards are established E-LSA aircraft will also be available in abundance. But it isn’t all good news… As sport pilot increases the size of the market, competition is also increasing.

A perfect storm.
These factors taken together point to a massive revolution in the sport aviation industry. The next months and years will see massive change in the industry. It is very likely that companies we’ve known for decades will not survive the storm, while new players will emerge and thrive.

Opportunity everywhere.
Change is good. Now is not the time for business as usual. To thrive, sport aviation businesses must assess their marketing efforts to ensure they thrive.

Opportunity online.
The majority of sport aviation websites are below average at best. This leaves ample opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves and rise above the crowd. This blog will focus on the opportunities related to online marketing for the sport aviation industry.

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