With this blog post we want to take you on our journey through the Engine Lease, Trading & Finance 2021 Virtual Conference organized by Aviation Week Network.
Introduction
And here it is. Our journey continues and this time by attending the Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance 2021 conference. Thanks to Aviation Week Network and their news segment we were able to receive much higher attention than at our first conference. On one hand we still represent the fresh and newly set up startup, but on the other hand we also have the feeling to be much more known within the industry. In addition, this time we attended with twice as much people than the last conference. Due to the pandemic this conference was already announced being a virtual one. Since our first conference we have become more confident and more experienced presenting ourselves in virtual meetings. As a common procedure prior to the start of the conference we got our access and scheduled meetings with as many people as possible. This time we not only focused to have interviews with airlines and lessors but also with finance- and MRO-companies.
Conference
The conference was set up as a networking event and also offered plenty of panel sessions to take part in. We really enjoyed the virtual dashboard aviation week has created for all attendees. From the dashboard we were able to set up meetings easily, access live panel discussions directly and have a clear overview because of the included time schedule. Overall it was very convenient. Throughout all panel sessions it was clear that the pandemic is very exhausting and everybody longs for normality. We were also eager to travel and meet people personally at such events. Due to that the conference did not have the attendee numbers compared to the first virtual event and we hope that number increases with the recovery. Recovery of the industry was still the major topic of all the sessions followed by sessions regarding how lessors dealt with the pandemic and what the package deals with airlines look like. How hard our industry was hit, could be seen in the ongoing discussions, where everybody showed how they are trying to get through the situation. However, everyone is happy that the world is opening up bit by bit, starting from the Asian market and the US market. The panel speakers see the European aviation market a little bit behind but its recovery is estimated within the next 2 to 3 years. In addition it is expected that the short-term leasing of engines will be the first part of the engine lease segment to recover as carriers look to offset expensive shop visits over the next 12-18 months.
Networking sessions
Now that we doubled our presence, how did the interviews go for us? Well, we had a lot of interviews in between the presentations. Each interview was time-boxed to 15 minutes. Out of experience 15 minutes can be over quickly and therefore you have to get your things done in order to get to know the pains of the interview partner and show the current state of Aeroji. As usual the initial planning of some of the meetings shifted, so our planning required lots of flexibility. However, this time was still quite different. We had some interview partners who had meetings with us for about an hour, talking about the state of the industry and how Aeroji can ease up the engine trading business. We believe that is exactly what you get when being more acknowledged by the industry, a professional exchange beyond the given time limits. The overall impression of Aeroji was very positive. In every meeting everybody approved and liked Aeroji and our approach and even considered several options how the platform can be beneficial for their engine trading and assessment processes. Biggest pain for engine owners is handling paperwork properly. The multiple iterations of checking, correcting and getting signatures to validate the paperwork is time consuming according to the interviewees. Moreover, it was mentioned during one meeting, that the platform with its features will also have a positive effect on the helicopter engine business and their owners.
As for this conference it can be summed up as a success again due to the many interesting interviews and panel sessions we had. And we look forward to experience our third big event at Aviation Week Networks Aero Engines Americas 2021 end of June!
Cherry on top of the icing
After the first conference we were asked by Aviation Week for an interview since they wanted to know more about our product. We described it internally as the icing on the cake. However, this time Aviation Week again supported us by distributing a news article about our upcoming launch and reminding everyone in aviation that we are still there and ready to make an impact in the engine business. The complete article can be found here:
The interviews went great. Again many people have shown their interest in Aeroji and showed interest on becoming beta users. With all the received interest we are still hoping to attend many more conferences in order to bring our mission to the aviation community closer. Now it´s time to concentrate on our upcoming launch and the end of the beta phase. Our mission stays the same, providing the convenient and transparent way for aviation business by reducing complexity, creating trust and connecting people. We are there for you anytime to answer all your questions and to listen to all your proposals as well as criticisms. All your feedback is very much appreciated. Just let us know at hello@aeroji.com or on any social network.