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Good morning. August can seem a bit of a slug. No boom, no bang. However we are smarter than that, right? Rightttttttt đ”âđ« Itâs in these seemingly mute days that there exists subtle movements occurring under the blanket of this quiet covering. Or rather, above us in the sky.
Be First â
An object of the rich and famous, private flying is growing in itâs popularity and thus any related services. I was reading the journal this weekend and found an interesting statistic â there are now roughly 430K U.S. households worth $30 million or more, and as that number has grown, so has the industry of services catering to wealthy travelers who want to skip the hassles of commercial flying.
New entrants and models have emerged as well. Fractional jet ownership, and âjet-poolingâ have become en vogue. Membership programs such as Bond, which is offering heated stone floors on their jets essentially allowing your feet to stay warm while you are in your PJs on your PJ. Itâs something new but it is competing with NetJets and Flexjet. Ugh, not those basic billys.
The underset â planes are expensive both in manufacturing, operating (mainly the fuel) and owning. These small scale private flying firms start off very strong, due to meager size and targeted audience. Soon growth and profitability draw more attention than appearance and exclusivity. Thus meaning, more planes, and more clients. Once the wealthy client pool is tapped out. Time to call up the thousand-aires. Meaning again, more planes, and more clients. Repeat. Eventually, the private flying club shapes itself into a commercial airline. Challenging the balance of private and successful.
I do see a potential opportunity for private flying firms â be first and already bake into the model all participants of the economic pool. Ultra wealthy or not. Tier and cater, and price the flights based off such. Exercise this at the start of the operation not when the PJ firm needs it.
I assure you I wonât be receiving a call anytime soon. I am still in court awaiting my MTA refund for $3.27. Long story for another day.
Be Smarter â
There exist potential for Dulles International (IAD) to receive a much needed update. The projected cost $22B. Trump unveiled the plans last week. But if you know anything about Trump and his renovation pools, ballrooms, arcsâtypo, I meant plansâyou know thatâŠwellâŠyou knowâŠitâs Trump.
Listen, he unveiled the designs and renderings with his own internal pre - approval team. The details show that this project is largely financed through municipal bonds rather than federal funds. Additionally, airlines that operate at Dulles, majorly United Airlines, will cover the costs. It is also worth noting that congress still needs to approve the plan. He tends to forget that congress exist around the corner.
As a travel lover and United baby, I support the designs. Truly it looks nice. 5M square feet sounds great. Airports are a way that each one of us first experience a new culture and place and having up to date entry ways are vital to that experience. Letâs be smart and use the new square footage to be at least, UNCARPETED. Oh and yes, hopefully approved.
Or Cheat â
Brian Chesky announced last week that AI has cut concept-to-delivery time by up to 60% on key initiatives â for example, airport pickups launched in just six weeks, compared to nine months for the companyâs groceries business â while boosting product improvements (80%) y/o/y and lowering customer support costs by 16%. In the rental business space, Airbnb is outpacing Expedia (6%) and Booking Holdings (5%). All of this meaning that, AI is providing Airbnb with confidence over its competitors. Airbnb has been pushing into hotels, experiences and services and posting strong financials for Q2, with revenues rising to $3.6B (+17%). I think Airbnb is a great culture for Ai to test itâs importance or lack there of given all of the conflicting rhetoric around Aiâs use cases. Itâs a decent cheat for Airbnb since growth projections are always their real struggle. Rolling out a new product faster is one thing, and accomplishment. Making that product profitable and long lasting is another â even for itself.
Till next week âđŸ Margin Call is issued weekly on Tuesdays, found only on Pay Me in Plane Tickets!
