What's new Boeing?

I was looking through the blog of Jon Ostrower, the individual whose blog I had started following, and found several interesting updates and one involving the 787.  Boeing has a tentative settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case against the company.  The agreement involves an arrangement to build the 737MAX aircraft at the union plant in Renton, Washington.  If you recall the 787 was facing a potential production problem (shocking) when internal discussions of a second assembly plant being built in South Carolina to avoid labor laws in Washington.  This news, should limit potential delivery delays as Boeing tries to key up with the large orders it has for the 787.  It will also ensure that the final assembly of the 737MAX will take place in Washington as opposed to other sites that Boeing was exploring.

Hopefully this will allow Boeing to avoid any other problems it may encounter.

Mr. Roberto Gonzalez

When I was looking for people that are influential in aviation I stumbled upon Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez.  I had never heard the name before, even though he is the President of the ICAO council.  Mr. Gonzalez is from Mexico and he received his Engineering degree in Communication and Electronics from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico in 1965.  He also studied at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma and the National Productivity Centre of Mexico taking several management, planning, quality assurance and leadership courses.  He has had an impressive career that started in 1966 and led him to the head of ICAO in 2006.

The duties of the President of the Council is to oversee the governing body (36 nations) which is elected by the ICAO Assembly for three-year terms.  For a more detailed explanation of how ICAO functions please follow this link.  The ICAO headquarters are located in Montreal, Canada.

Mr. Gonzalez and the work that ICAO does is vital to the Aviation industry.  With many countries in dispute with the European Union’s emission plan that is set to take place on January 1^st, ICAO has been working with the numerous countries that have objected to this plan and trying to prevent a setback in jobs as well as financially to the aviation sector.  Mr. Gonzalez has previously worked on negotiations on international air transport agreements, as noted in his biography.  Hopefully he will help the nations opposed to this EU law arrive at an agreement with the EU that will not hinder the aviation industry.  Another reason that Mr. Gonzalez is helping the aviation industry was by his statements in his re-election speech just last year.  He is looking to further improve the safety, security, and the environmental sustainability of international civil aviation.  In the 2010 assembly the governments of ICAO nations agreed to cap greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels, and to improve fuel efficiency by two percent annually to 2050 as cited from this article.

General Aviation in China

China has always had an extremely limited footprint in the general aviation sector for the vast size of the country.  With a limited amount of airports (less than 200) and highly restrictive airspace, there hasn’t been the opportunity for much of a general aviation sector in a country that has over one billion people in it.  However, over the years the Chinese economy has been catching up to the United States as the largest in the world.  Moving along with China’s economy is the general aviation sector as well.  An article written by the NBAA shows multiple companies, which include Cessna, Boeing, and many others, expanding their production in China.  This increase in production, along with the Chinese government relaxing airspace restrictions, has poised the country for a general aviation expansion.

With this endeavor into a more aviation friendly environment the potential collaboration and competition within the aviation sector is going to increase.  In the article cited above, the NBAA points to a purchase of a US piston manufacturer by a Chinese company.  Although the production will remain in Alabama the purchase has allowed for further funding for the development of diesel technology with aviation applications.  As the GA sector continues to expand there will undoubtedly come a time where the Chinese start moving toward their own production as they learn from more established practices.

Although China is moving into a place where general aviation might thrive, there is still a long way to go.  Putting an infrastructure into place that can handle this increased demand will take time and money.  As China starts down this path of expansion there are going to be many opportunities for both pilots and management in the aviation sector in China.  As the economy continues to expand and with the steps of the Chinese government, the potential for aviation related jobs in China is going to be promising.

Corporate Aviation

Looking on the web at corporate aviation position is tricky work.  If a company isn't hiring then it is much more difficult to figure out what minimums they will look for or how long you might be on the road.  Using a job search engine was extremely helpful tool in locating jobs that were available.  Many of the websites it directed me to had basic hiring minimums and where I could send a resume and little else.

Looking for a few of the pilot jobs on a few of the job search engines led me to positions for Caterpillar and Kroger.  I wasn't able to get much information outside of basic qualifications for hiring though.  One site that I did find a bit more information on was for a medical helicopter pilot for Air Evac Lifeteam.  As stated through their website.  Air Evac Lifeteam is looking for helicopter pilots to fly their Bell 206 and 407 models.  They offer a 7 on/7 off work schedule as well as numerous other benefits as listed in the job posting.  The job posting was similar to all other types of job postings with a little more information.  Most of the posting didn't project a large picture as far as salary, quality of life, or the type of equipment that would be flown.

Another interesting thing that I kept running across while looking for various corporate flight departments were aviation forums.  Many people were looking for basic insight for specific companies with various responses.  Some would tell the type of equipment being flown, while others would answer hiring minimums.  It is difficult to gauge how accurate some of the posts on the forums are so I took this information knowing that fact.

One thing that did hold constant on these message boards was knowing somebody that was in the flight department or having a network to somebody related to the department.  This holds very true with most of the speakers we have listened to over the past few weeks.  Networking, networking, and more networking are the keys to success in the corporate world.