The P-56 Aviation Podcast

After a holiday hiatus, the P-56 Podcast returns this week with special guest John Heimlich, Vice President and Chief Economist of Airlines For America. In this episode, we discuss the current state of the airline industry, some of the lesser-known-yet-incredibly-helpful provisions of the CARES Act, the future of propulsion & fuel, and more. 

John Heimlich currently serves as Vice President and Chief Economist for Airlines For America (A4A), where he has worked since 2001. He is responsible for matters pertaining to economics and energy and frequently engages with members of the media. Prior to A4A, Heimlich spent five years at United Airlines in financial planning, financial analysis and international and regulatory affairs. In the latter role, he worked on competition matters, mergers, route cases and antitrust immunity for alliances. A native of Kent, Ohio, Heimlich holds a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Cornell University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

This has been an exciting week in the aviation and transportation policy world, with Pete Buttigieg being named as President-Elect Biden’s Secretary of Transportation and the increased prospect of new funding support for airlines as part of the larger stimulus package working its way through Congress. With these significant events alongside the rest of the issues facing the airline industry today, there's no more perfect guest to help parse the ongoing changes to the industry than Faye Malarkey Black, President and CEO of the Regional Airline Association, or more commonly known as RAA.

As President and CEO of RAA, Faye leads an industry trade organization representing 17 North American regional airlines and 150 associate members. In the United States, RAA member airlines operate 40 percent of the flights, at the end of 2019 employed about 70,000 individuals, and provide the only source of scheduled passenger air service to two-thirds of the nation’s airports. Ms. Black oversees the daily operations of the Association, develops and executes its policy and business objectives, and serves as the primary spokesperson for the regional airline industry.

With more than two decades of experience in policy, strategic leadership, business development, and management, Ms. Black has served the RAA since 1998 and was formerly senior vice president - government affairs. Ms. Black began her career in Pennsylvania, holding key positions in voter targeting and communications in 1994 and 1996 coordinated state campaigns. She formerly worked for U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and later served as an executive at Smithbucklin Corporation, providing strategic advice to trade associations seeking to build effective advocacy programs and helping emerging businesses in developing democracies develop business support networks under a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) subcontract. Ms. Black holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and is based in Washington DC.

Within the United States, the vast majority of airline pilots have organized themselves into unions, which collectively represent and bargain with each airline’s management regarding work rules, pay, and other elements of working life. The largest and arguably most well known of these unions is the Air Line Pilots Association, International, or ALPA. Joining the podcast are four leaders from ALPA’s national-level Professional Development Group for a conversation about the union, its role in the industry, and what the union is doing in these turbulent times. ALPA’s national-level Professional Development Group, which is led by ALPA’s Vice President of Administration, Capt. Bill Couette, is tasked with enhancing the professional development and well-being of all current and future ALPA pilots by promoting, fostering, supporting, and securing a sustainable career path.

Joining the podcast today are:

First Officer Kandy Bernskoetter serves as the National Membership Chair for ALPA, which represents 59,000 plus pilots at 35 airlines across the United States and Canada. She is a First Officer on the Boeing 777 for FedEx, and currently serves as an appointed member to the Secretary of Transportation's Women in Aviation Advisory Board.

Captain David Farmer serves as the National Leadership Committee Chair, which engages in training and mentorship for local Council, Master Executive Council officers, and national committee leaders. He is currently an Airbus A330 Captain for Delta Air Lines, and has over 30 years of service as an ALPA volunteer across all levels of the organization.

First Officer Justin Dahan is a member of ALPA's Education Committee and the liaison to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, which helps foster the next generation of ALPA members at universities and flight schools around the United States. He currently flies the Boeing 757 for FedEx and has worked with ALPA from his time as a student at ERAU, to a regional airline, and now to his current role.

First Officer Camila Turrieta is Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which works to engage the industry and organization toward becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for all. She currently flies the Airbus A320 series for JetBlue and has extensive experience as a volunteer for Women in Aviation, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, and the Latino Pilots Association.

Pour yourself a Friday #avgeek Cocktail for today's episode, as Henry Harteveldt, the Founder and President of Atmosphere Research Group and God-Tier Avgeek joins P-56 for an interesting and insightful discussion of the economics of air travel today. This episode takes a deep dive into the current business travel landscape along with unique insights from Henry's surveys of passengers and business travel managers regarding to resumption of travel and attitudes toward flying on the 737 MAX. 

After a short hiatus due to the election and other pressing current events, The P-56 Podcast returns to the airwaves with Jon Ostrower, Editor in Chief of The Air Current, one of the newest and most in-depth aviation news sources for public consumption today. In this episode we discuss Jon and his colleague Courtney Miller's forecast for airline recovery, the relationship between aviation and the environment, how automotive development in the late 1800s and early 1900s and its effect on the aviation industry mirrors the developments happening today in the electric vehicle world, what's to come for aviation in President-Elect Biden's administration, and the all-important return of the Boeing 737MAX to the skies in the coming weeks and months.

Would it surprise you to know that the percentages in the episode title represent the share of female professional pilots, airline captains, airline C-Suite executives, or A&P mechanics, respectively, in the United States?

As I set out to chart a course for who to invite for the first several episodes of the P-56 Podcast, Bill Swelbar was at or near the top of the list for his unique insights, deep knowledge of the airline industry, and experience with airport service development. In the premiere podcast for P-56, Bill discusses his updated forecast for air service from 2020-2025, what he's gotten right in the forecast, what he's gotten wrong in the forecast, and what he'd really like to be wrong about in the forecast for the future. We also discuss a lack of replacements for the 50-seat regional jet, airports that may be winners and losers in the new economic reality of airline travel, and where business aviation might be able to fill the gaps left by a shrinking airline industry.

What is P-56? Take a look at a Washington aeronautical chart and you’ll see two small shaded areas over the city of Washington DC. Those shaded areas represent the prohibited airspace over the nation’s capitol. In the tract of land under the airspace given the designation of Prohibited Area 56, significant work is done to regulate and develop our aviation system. 

This podcast aims help any aviation professional or hobbyist learn more about what makes our aviation system tick. Hosted by Martin Rottler, a professional avgeek with experience in airline management and as a university professor in the United States, and featuring experts from across the aviation industry, each episode will take a deep dive into the known and little known areas of aviation policy, economics, and current affairs. 

Episode 1, featuring Bill Swelbar of the Swelbar-Zhong Consulancy, MIT, and member of the Board of Directors for Hawaiian Airlines will be released soon!