Tell us more about FlightGlobal - what is the type of content that the team covers and who is your target audience?
FlightGlobal, part of DVV Media, is an aerospace publisher and content provider delivering professional publications, special reports, and online news and analysis.

FlightGlobal publishes the long-established Flight International magazine, which marked its 110th anniversary in 2019, and established boardroom strategy title Airline Business, which entered its 35^th year in 2020. It also produces multiple daily publications produced and circulated on-site at air shows and key industry events globally, including the Dubai, Farnborough, Paris, and Singapore air shows.

FlightGlobal.com features breaking news, analysis and opinion across industry sectors.

Our target audience is professionals in the global aviation industry. Our readership includes people from these sectors:

• Airlines
• Aerospace manufacturing
• Defence
• MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul)
• Business aviation
• Airports
• Government agencies
• Research and academia

Can you provide insights into the key trends shaping the aviation industry right now?
The commercial aerospace sector and airline industry survived the existential threat of the coronavirus pandemic and air travel is recovering, but the sector faces many challenges. The pandemic had a dire effect on aerospace supply chains, and the industry struggles with a lack of spare parts and timely maintenance. Geopolitical events have pushed fuel prices higher. This is bad news for airline profitability and means higher ticket prices for passengers.

In the longer term, the industry is grappling with how to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050. Sustainable Aviation Fuel - ‘SAF’ in industry nomenclature - could help reduce emissions, but very little exists and it will be years before it is produced at sufficient scale to make a difference. Other technologies such as hydrogen and advanced batteries are also some years away from having any impact.

The defence aerospace business is booming owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns about Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and against Taiwan, but supply chain is an issue here as well. Nonetheless, it is a time of great change in military affairs, with new technologies such as Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles and artificial intelligence set to transform aerial warfare. The future of air combat will bear little resemblance to the Top Gun movies.

What are the main environmental and sustainability concerns within the aviation sector, and how journalists can report on these issues better?
The aerospace and airline sector are prone to greenwashing. From time to time an airline will operate a flight using SAF and promote it heavily in the media. While such PR activity gives the impression that the industry has the environmental challenge well in hand, in fact, the widespread implementation of SAF is many, many years away. 

From an industry perspective, governments aren’t doing nearly enough to develop SAF capacity. Reporters can help by raising awareness that the aviation industry wants to reduce emissions, but it cannot do so alone. Reducing the emissions involved in air travel involves not just the airlines, but governments and the major energy producers.

Can you explain your publication's approach to covering aviation safety and regulatory issues, which are of critical concern to the industry and its stakeholders?
A major role of FlightGlobal is spreading awareness about safety challenges in the industry. While we, of course, cover the major accidents that get picked up in mainstream media, we also cover near misses and other safety incidents. We are assiduous about not jumping to conclusions when there is an accident, and we emphasise that investigators need time to piece things together: it can take months or years before the causes of an accident are known and understood.

When disasters happen, our reporters and editors are often called upon by mainstream media to provide commentary. We’re happy to provide some background on the aircraft / airline involved, as well as give some views on the investigation process. 

Air travel is among the safest modes of travel, but the industry’s strong record relies on openness. We call on all stakeholders to be upfront about safety issues that they face, so that learnings can benefit the entire industry. Safety reporting is not about attributing blame, but raising awareness.

What are some under-reported stories or aviation-related topics that journalists can explore?
The great thing about aviation is that it is very technical and diverse. It is also an industry of great public interest.  A major under-reported story is what governments are doing (or not doing) to encourage the production of SAF at a scale that will make a big dent in airline emissions. 

Reporters could also probe more into the heavy regulation imposed on the airline sector compared with other industries and the close ties between governments and major airlines. The airline business is notoriously challenging: taxpayers should not be called on to foot the bill when an airline gets into trouble.

How does FlightGlobal work with PRs and what type of pitches does the team hope to receive more of?
We’re quite close with the PR teams at the big aerospace firms and the airlines. Given our audience, we’re interested in getting into the details of specific aircraft types and airline strategy. 

Pitches we’re keen on are interviews with airline and aerospace leaders, as well as visits to airlines, MRO facilities, and aerospace factories. 

On the defence side, we want to talk with senior officers in regional militaries, as well as executives working at companies involved in defence aerospace.

Can you provide insights into the types of visuals or multimedia elements that enhance aviation-related stories for your publication?
We need nice, high-resolution images to accompany our stories. This is fairly easy when writing about, say, an airline, as there is usually plenty of imagery online or from the airline itself. Imagery gets more challenging when we’re writing about nuanced angles such as SAF or futuristic technologies related to engines and the like.