Designing The Future of Air Travel in a Post Pandemic World

The number of Americans getting on airplanes has sunk to a level not seen in more than 60 years as people shelter in their homes to avoid catching or spreading the new coronavirus.

The devastating effects on travel right now are clear — a $2+ trillion government stimulus bill (The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) was already signed into law, providing airlines with around $60+ billion in financial assistance.

The price of oil is now dropping below one dollar a barrel, in some instances, even a negative price, leading to a historical record surplus of cheap fuel.

But what does the future really hold for air travel?

We sat down with businessman Hunter Gaylor, Founder, and President of Hunter Airways Inc™ a growing high profile start-up airline in the United States to discuss his take on the market.

“With advances in technology, the way in which airlines innovate their products, services, and operations is changing at a rapid pace. Given the shut down of the majority of US domestic air travel, the stress on the industry has caused the need for innovation to increase significantly.

It is clear that pre-pandemic airlines in the US were in a race to the bottom focusing on crowded planes and limited service offerings.”

The market opportunity, Hunter believes, is going in the opposite direction with a luxury, customer-first, opulent expanded service offering.

Hunter Airways Inc™ is a new startup boutique shuttle service with the goal to provide daily flights between regional airports from the east coast to the west coast. The mission of the company is to redefine luxury air travel by bringing back a sense of style, luxury and elegance, at a level not seen among any domestic competitor or private charter service for that matter, by offering the most refined flight and safety experience in the United States.

Hunter, who is an advisor and consultant to many state leaders on marketing and economic development, explains that the brand, messaging, and service of Hunter Airways is far superior to any product offering being developed in America at this time. Our global relationships that are standing behind the development of our brand and service offering see the opportunity to truly change the way we fly.

While still in the development stage, our conversations with both Wall Street and MainStreet have yielded considerable enthusiasm and support for the vision of this project. The robustness of the business model and the pandemic and recession proof approach has generated serious conversations of the potential to increase the number of routes in the future. According to Hunter Airways Chief Marketing Officer, Bianca de la Garza, they expect to expand to London and potentially Dubai. At the moment, the focus is solely on the development of their first domestic route.

The concierge level of personal attention will be a staple throughout the flight experience. “The ethos of our airline is the passenger first. From the time they book a ticket during the onboarding process, to the in-flight experience, to their experience after the flight until they fly with us again, the attention to detail and care to the customers needs will be unparalleled. Technology will serve in its rightful place as a helpful aid and not a laborious chore” says Joseph Del Prete, Chief Technology Officer of Hunter Airways.

The current pandemic often inspires fear in many people. However, with these trying times come unforeseen opportunities. After speaking with Gaylor, he clearly articulated the company's vision, his passion, and his unrelenting commitment to upgrading air travel in the post-pandemic United States. Rather than surrendering to circumstance, or becoming a creature of habit, great leaders create the change they want to see, and it’s evident that Gaylor has the makings of a great leader.

We continue to monitor the aviation industry for new developments and innovations in order to bring you a little closer look as to what traveling may look like in the future.

For more information you can visit their website. www.HunterAirways.com

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes