VICTORIA TOZER-PENNINGTON INTERVIEWS JOHN FEREN,PARTNER SPLIT ROCK AVIATION

A series of podcasts from Airline Economics speaks to veterans of the commercial aviation finance and leasing industry, who share their thoughts on the impact of the pandemic crisis on the aviation industry.

At troubled times like these for the aviation industry and the world, drawing on the experience of experienced industry veterans is a significant competitive advantage. For the Split Rock Aviation team, as Feren says in the podcast, those years of experience give a broader perspective on the current situation. After working through the period after 9/11 and then after the global financial crisis, the aftermath of the global pandemic is unprecedented. “[COVID-10] is global and it's an invisible disease, impacting the entirety of the travel experience,” he says. “The aftermath of 9/11 really only impacted a small component of the whole travel experience… Right now, the number of people traveling is at an insignificant number to sustain global operation. So not only do you have consumers quite traumatized by the disease, you also have a financial model that's really not working.” Added to those factors, says Feren, is the fact that the industry had been in a period of very high growth and airlines had been adding record amounts of capacity and ordering new aircraft for a growth curve that today may not be achievable for several years.