Taking Off in Public: Covering The Business of Flying

Now, we are expanding our editorial efforts to include aviation business and market insights, under the banner of FLYING Business.

This will be an important area of focus and one that I am particularly excited about. While I understand that this will appeal to perhaps only a segment of our audience, I believe it’s an important extension of our brand.

After all, the best way to track the innovation and development in the aviation space is to have close relationships with the various manufacturers, technology vendors, and suppliers in the space. By investing in business coverage, we will have a much deeper understanding of the developments in the aviation industry.

We’ve named our first business editor, Michael Wildes, who holds a flight instructor certificate with single-engine, multiengine, and instrument ratings. He earned a master’s degree in logistics and supply-chain management and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has also worked in the university’s flight department as a check airman, assistant training manager, and quality assurance mentor. Wildes also sits on the board of Dreams Soar, Inc., an organization that encourages girls and young women to consider STEM and aviation careers.

Michael has written for FLYING as a contributor for the past two months under the headlines of “What Your Flight Instructor Wants You to Know.” He will continue to write this section but will also oversee our business coverage efforts. Michael combines a deep understanding of aviation from the perspective of a pilot, which will serve him well in covering business stories for FLYING.

Our plans are to grow FLYING Business to become the leading provider of content for companies and professionals in the aviation and aerospace industry. We plan to grow the editorial team with additional journalists, always keeping our focus on covering the aviation industry from the perspective of a pilot.

It’s my observation that business news doesn’t do very well in print. Therefore, FLYING Business is a digital-only approach.

If you are curious about how we plan to execute the FLYING Business media plan, you can check out FreightWaves, the company I founded four years ago, which has quickly become the market leader in supply-chain news, analysis, and data. The idea is to provide deep stories and analysis for the aviation industry, always with a focus on original stories that are timely and have a lot of depth.

We will cover topics that go beyond press releases and include investigative journalism, earnings, capital raises, mergers and acquisitions, market updates and analysis, technology innovations, and other developments. The goal is to build the largest source of information for anyone interested in aviation, whether an adventurer, professional, or executive.

Interested in connecting with me? You can find me on Twitter @freightalley.