The Crucial Yet Overlooked Role of Aircraft Maintenance in Building an Indispensable Operation

By Karen Davies

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”  Steve Jobs emphasized this to his team during the early iPhone days. 

His philosophy extended beyond simply creating a great product—it focused on deeply understanding customer needs and desires, identifying pain points even customers might not recognize, and, most importantly for long-term success, creating an emotional connection making Apple products indispensable.

In a corporate environment of cost-cutting, layoffs, outsourcing, and new business strategies, flight operations are often targeted as money sinkholes and unnecessary executive perks.

Many notable flight operations over the years have become victims.  Many of you may recall GE closing its flight department in 2017 and 3M doing the same in 2023; there have been numerous others over the years.

They didn’t close because the aircraft weren’t maintained properly, or the crew were incompetent. They closed these flight department because the executive decision makers, often users of the aircraft themselves, no longer saw the value in a private flight operation. They believed they could gain equivalent or better perceived value using alternative business aircraft operations. 

In this article, we address this value proposition and include some practical strategies which you and your aviation team can begin to consider in order to increase your aviation services’ value and longevity.  

Owning and operating aircraft is costly for any individual or organization.  As we all know, aircraft are expensive to purchase and require dedicated hangar space and staff. Maintenance is on-going, jet fuel prices are unpredictable, landing fees can be high and so on.  Additionally, there may be a negative perception towards corporate aircraft operations; often employees facing cost-cutting measures and limited bonuses may point towards the company flight operations – seeing them as only a perk for the top executives – and ask, “Why not sell the aircraft?” 

The value of the flight operations to your users and passengers is the perceived benefit they receive from having access to business aircraft versus the cost of operating the aircraft.  When the value is high, your executives and users are going to be far less likely to consider looking for alternative business aviation-based travel needs.

What do your users and passengers value in your flight operation?

The value you and your team bring to your company and aircraft users will be unique since every operation is different and every passenger has their own personal expectations.  However, the ServiceElements team has asked this question of many aviation operation passengers and users, and we commonly hear:

• Flexibility
• Privacy
• Security
• Time savings
• Trusted relationships
• Personalized touches

This list is about who, and not necessarily what.  Whether you are an aircraft technician, crew member or dispatcher, your job is more than fixing or flying aircraft; it is about people.  Customer service can often make a big impact on a flight operation’s value proposition, and everyone has a role in providing exceptional service and building customer loyalty. 

Practical ways you can enhance value for your aircraft users and passengers

1. Take your understanding of your passengers’ and users’ preferences, expectations, likes and dislikes to the next level
   Like Steve Jobs, and as we mentioned in last month’s article “Why Customer Service Matters…”, we believe that, in business aviation, it’s essential to understand your customers’ needs, expectations and even perceptions, so you can anticipate them and provide exceptional, memorable service. Many of you already understand and do this, but to enhance value we must really search for the small but valuable nuances which can build value and loyalty.  ServiceElements worked with a flight operation a few years ago and we spoke to their CEO who had so much praise for the operation and shared a memorable experience with us.  This CEO received some personal flight hours on the company aircraft as part of his compensation and had been returning from a personal trip with his family.  As the aircraft taxied towards the company hangar, the crew stopped short of the ramp.  The CEO asked what was happening and the crew said that they could see some activity on the ramp with passengers boarding an aircraft and they decided to just hold back until that aircraft left.  This CEO was a very private person and certainly did not want any of these passengers potentially gossiping about the use of the aircraft by him and his family. The crew, without being told, recognized the value that this privacy brought the CEO and as a result built incredible value for this CEO. 
   
   
2. Next Level Proactive service – make their lives, or at least travel, easier and pay attention to the small details
   Your passengers highly value their time, and any opportunities you and your flight operation team have to save them time or make their life easier is likely to be appreciated and create value.  Can maintenance be scheduled to minimize disruption or can certain aircraft health monitoring be done to improve reliability? Several aviation operations we have worked with clear snow off passenger cars and warm them up during cold weather, just before the flight arrives.  Small details provide a personalized service they might not get elsewhere and may also reflect on how your passengers and users view the overall operation.  When an aircraft returns from a trip, do you wipe down the seat belt buckles and ensure the carpet and seats are spotless?  This attention to detail can build trust and if they deem interior cleaning to not be to their expectations, they might even query the standard of aircraft maintenance. 
   
   
3. Next Level Teamwork and sharing information
   Providing an exceptional value-based service requires you and your team to communicate consistently and clearly, work together and debrief customer interactions in order to learn from them.  You probably already have regular team meetings and share information but is their room to increase that communication further and find ways to enhance collaboration as a team.  Remember, your passengers and users do not see the flight operation as separate departments of maintenance, crew, scheduling etc.; they see one entity – your operation. The more information shared by everyone in the flight operation, the more cohesive you will be as a team and the better everyone can work together to provide the best service possible and meet your customers’ needs and expectations.  For example, if a part is anticipated to be delayed and this could impact aircraft availability, the sooner this information is shared with scheduling, the more time they have to consider back-up options. Similarly, if the Wi-Fi is not working during flight, it is vital that the crew shares this with the maintenance team so they can fix it before the next flight. 
   
   
4. Next Level Be adaptable
   Even if your current passengers and users see a high worth in your flight operation, their needs and expectations evolve and change.  Additionally, who the top executives in a company are can change, so it is important to recognize and be adaptable to their changing needs.   A flight department we worked with welcomed a new CEO. At first, the DOM and other team members were relieved to learn that the new CEO supported the aviation department and wished to utilize the aircraft. However, the new CEO began requesting back-to-back trips with just a few days’ notice or less, with very early departures and late arrivals, and made frequent changes to the itinerary before and during trips. This posed challenges for the operation managing relief crews and 24/7 maintenance coverage. The DOM and Aviation Director understood the necessity of adapting to meet the new CEO’s needs and expectations.  While it might have been tempting to push for a discussion with the CEO about the benefits of providing more lead time for trip planning and aircraft maintenance, they wisely prioritized understanding that this was a critical time for the company and leveraged flexibility as their value proposition to better serve the organization’s new leadership.
   
   

The reality is that no matter how many aircraft you operate or how high the utilization is, your passengers and users must perceive it to have a value which, simply put, ‘makes it worth it’.  All companies scrutinize costs and you and your aviation team need to have users and passengers who are your cheerleaders and who gain high value from your operation. There is no room for complacency; understanding what value you provide, getting close to them and exceeding their expectations is critical to becoming indispensable in your organization.