This fireside chat recap is from FLYING’s “What’s Next in General Aviation” Virtual Event on Wednesday.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the aviation industry. Piper Aircraft, which held fast throughout the pandemic, is taking advantage of renewed interest in flight-training aircraft and private aviation.
DETAILS: FLYING CEO Craig Fuller chats with Piper Aircraft vice president of sales, marketing, and customer support Ron Gunnarson to discuss the future of consumer interest in the aviation industry.
SPEAKER: Gunnarson is vice president of sales, marketing, and customer support for Piper Aircraft.
BIO: Gunnarson has worked at Piper Aircraft since January 2017, bringing with him 30 years of general aviation marketing experience. He previously served as vice president of marketing for Textron Aviation, utilizing his expertise in strategic brand development. He is also a former manufacturer demo pilot, with more than 2,800 flight hours and type ratings in the Hawker 400XP and the Beechcraft King Air 350.
KEY QUOTES FROM GUNNARSON:
“The need for pilots is out there.”
“It is really an inflection point that we’re in right now, and it’s interesting that it comes right after a pandemic, that all these things are coming together.”
“With the pilot demand that’s out there, the training schools needed aircraft to fly, and a lot of the smaller mom-and-pop-type flight schools, not the big university programs, needed a new trainer that they could trust that was easy to operate, that cost per hours were low, and they’re choosing the Pilot 100i.”
“Everyone can fly a Piper.”
