the company is constantly looking at the break-even points of every flight to determine where there are potential cost savings. At the same time, he said, Hopscotch Air runs a tight ship in terms of scheduling, and their customers understand that. “Our customers have been willing to work with us to show up on time for their flights, because if they are excessively late, we lose money,” he remarked. “There have been occa- sions when, due to scheduling prob- lems, we’ve asked our customers if they’d be willing to adjust their depar- ture times. In most cases, they will, because our customers feel they are part of the Hopscotch community.” Marketing at Hopscotch Air has taken a multi-pronged approach, starting with word-of-mouth. “We definitely encourage our customers to talk about their experiences with us, and put up pictures on Instagram,” Schmertz said. “We have also received a lot of media coverage in indus- try and consumer publications.” The only paid advertising Hopscotch Air has done to date has been on WCBS, an all-news AM radio station located in New York. “Before we began to advertise on WCBS, we never got any busi- ness from the New Jersey suburbs,” Schmertz said. “But immediately after we did, we started getting inquiries from people living there.” Until June of this year, the com- pany had a six-year agreement with Swiss International Air Lines under which Hopscotch Air displayed the Zurich-based international carrier’s iconic logo. As Schmertz explained, Swiss International was seeking a U.S.-based airline to help them Aviation Business Journal | 2nd Quarter 2018 protect the historic trademark origi- nally used by long-defunct Swissair. In return for emblazoning it on one of its SR 22s, Hopscotch Air received free advertising in the airline’s inflight Swiss Magazine. “They also helped us create our safety management system by essentially performing a safety audit for us,” he pointed out. “It was a very productive relationship.” Another partnership was with the New York Islanders hockey club in which the Hopscotch Air brand was displayed before fans at matches. “We flew fans to watch the team play the Philadelphia Flyers and the Buffalo Sabres,” Schmertz noted. The partnership was dis- continued when the club relocated to Brooklyn, but was considered very beneficial to the carrier. Asked if there are any expan- sion plans beyond its current market area, Schmertz said that Florida is currently under study. “We are looking at population centers within the state that would most likely generate demand for our type of service,” he reported. This would not be the first foray from its New York roots. From 2013 to 2015, Hopscotch Air maintained a San Diego-based operation at Montgomery Field, but ended it as a result of “issues involving long-dis- tance management” and the ongoing pilot shortage, according to Schmertz. Along this line, the company interviews pilots with at least 1,200 hours, with commercial and instru- ment ratings, and prefers—but, does not insist upon—Cirrus expe- rience. All pilot training is carried out internally. Schmertz refers to the shortage of qualified pilots as, frankly, “the biggest threat to the industry today—now that air traffic control privatization is off the table.” “The flying public does not see this yet, but will begin to notice it with airline cutbacks and higher fares,” he said. “I think the industry can address the shortage to a large extent by being more diverse in its hiring. While we have tried to improve our diversity in pilot hiring, there are few women and minorities who are pilots.” That also means encouraging more young people to see flying as a career. He added: “I’ve spoken at colleges with aviation degree programs about the career opportunities available. We’ve got to be more creative about this. I think it will take some kind of public/private partnership to do it.” As a member of NATA’s Air Charter Committee, Schmertz said that “NATA has done a terrific job” of helping a company of Hopscotch Air’s size. “This is especially true for issues of significance to our busi- ness model. The value we get from NATA far outweighs the minimal cost of membership. For example, NATA has done a lot of work with respect to the regulatory environ- ment, and as a result, the FAA has made great strides with respect to working with companies like ours.” 47
