D.O.M. Blogs

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

The D.O.M. magazine team is in Columbus, OH this week for the NBAA Maintenance Conference. This morning, I was able to sit in on a session led by Service Elements' Lisa Archambeau and Tim Colins on Elevating Maintenance: Delivering Exceptional Customer Service.

Tim and Lisa discussed the importance of customer service in the aviation industry — emphasizing the need for continuous communication. The highlighted the significance of meeting both external and internal customers' needs. 

NBAA Maintenance Conference

The D.O.M. magazine team will be at the NBAA Maintenance Conference in Columbus, OH April 29 – May 1. If you will be at the conference, please stop by our booth and say Hi. We welcome the opportunity to talk with you!

If you have never attended an NBAA Maintenance Conference before, I would encourage you to do so. The conference has plenty of educational sessions for aircraft maintenance professionals — from DOMs to mechanics. If you work in the business aviation field, this conference is for you!

AI In Aircraft Maintenance

Can you imagine if one day AI was deployed in general aviation aircraft to automatically land an aircraft at an airport should the pilot become incapacitated? With the push of a button, a passenger could activate the system. AI would then take over. It would determine the status of the aircraft, find the nearest airport, communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft, and perform a safe landing without any input from the pilot.

Selling Has Nothing to do With Selling

This is the busiest time of year for our sales team. They are working with our advertisers and potential advertisers lining up their advertising schedules for the year. Being in sales is tough, and I admire those who are successful doing it. Just like in business publishing, aviation maintenance operations couldn't be successful if it weren't for successful sales professionals.

Set SMART Goals

Dear New Year’s Resolutions,

Well, what can I say?  It was fun while it lasted.

Sincerely,

January 14th

 

Here we are — one week in to 2025. Did you set a New Year’s Resolution? Are you still sticking to it? If so, good for you!

A Taxing Situation

The D.O.M. magazine team has been in Vegas this week attending NBAA-BACE 2024.

One of the big topics being discussed is the taxing situation some corporate flight departments are finding themselves in.

Just prior to NBAA-BACE, NBAA hosted its annual Tax, Regulatory and Risk Management Conference. A major topic discussed at the conference (has continued through NBAA-BACE) was the targeted IRS audits of some companies and individuals operating corporate flight departments.

NBAA-BACE 2024

The 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) is just around the corner. It will be taking place October 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

In my opinion, NBAA-BACE is the second-best opportunity for maintenance managers and aviation maintenance professionals to gain the knowledge necessary for career advancement. (The best conference is NBAA’s Maintenance Conference, which offers three days of maintenance- and management-focused sessions!)

West Star Aviation Academy 

Greg Napert and I recently flew down to West Star Aviation in East Alton, IL to celebrate the grand opening of Hangar 67 — West Star’s newest hangar. The hangar has been specifically designed to accommodate Gulfstream aircraft, and the company kept mechanics in mind throughout the design/build process.

Time For a Road (Air) Trip

Greg Napert and I will be traveling to East Alton, IL on August 27th to help celebrate the grand opening of West Star Aviation’s Hangar 67. Weather permitting, we’ll be taking an air trip in Greg’s Sundowner from Fort Atkinson International Airport to East Alton. If Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, we’ll be taking a road trip to East Alton. 

West Star has been a long-time partner with D.O.M. magazine since our launch in 2008, and Greg and I are looking forward to the event.

EAA AirVenture 2024 Breaks Records

EAA AirVenture took place last week. As we walked around the show, it was clear that there plenty of attendees. EAA sent out a press release yesterday announcing that this year's AirVenture broke some previously-set records. Here are some of the stats:

Attendance: Approximately 686,000 – Highest total on record! (Previous: 677,000 - 2023).

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

EAA AirVenture 2024 is almost upon us. From July 22-28, hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts will gather in Oshkosh, WI for EAA’s annual gathering. According to EAA, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 set records, with 677,000 attendees, more than 10,000 aircraft, and 848 commercial exhibits participating in last year’s celebration!

If you’ve never been to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve been to 21 AirVenture shows. Every year brings something new and exciting for the many visitors that flock to Oshkosh for this annual aviation event. 

Employee Engagement

I just read "This CEO learned 3 essential lessons about being a great leader from one trip" on FastCompany.com. Author Barry Rosen tells the story of taking a road trip to meet with all 25 of his remote employees who worked from their home offices throughout the United States. He planned to spend at least eight hours with each employee. Half the time would be social — doing something fun and interesting together.

Do You Feel Safer Now?

The US government recently saved us from Chinese meddling. You’ve probably already heard of the ban of TikTok. Citing security concerns, President Biden signed into law the ban in conjunction with  $95.3 billion aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The “Protecting Americans’ Data From Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024” mandates that Chinese-owned ByteDance sell its interest in TikTok or face a US ban of the app within 270 days (January 15, 2025).

Wow! I feel safer already. 

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About D.O.M. Magazine

D.O.M. magazine is the premier magazine for aviation maintenance management professionals. Its management-focused editorial provides information maintenance managers need and want including business best practices, professional development, regulatory, quality management, legal issues and more. The digital version of D.O.M. magazine is available for free on all devices (iOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle).

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More Info

Joe Escobar (jescobar@dommagazine.com)
Editorial Director
920-747-0195

Greg Napert (gnapert@dommagazine.com)
Publisher, Sales & Marketing
608-436-3376

Bob Graf (bgraf@dommagazine.com)
Director of Business, Sales & Marketing
608-774-4901