August 27, 2024 • 33 mins
🎙️ In this episode of The VegasStrong Revival Podcast, Britt had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Sallach, the president and founder of All In Aviation. Paul shares his journey from working in the aviation industry to starting a high-end flight school in Las Vegas. They discuss the importance of hospitality in business and how providing exceptional customer experiences can truly set a business apart! Paul highlights the cost and process of becoming a pilot through his program, emphasizing the value of investing in quality training. They also touch on the sense of community that emerged in Las Vegas after the tragic events of October 1 and how the Golden Knights hockey team played a role in uniting the city. Overall, the episode showcases the resilience and spirit of VegasStrong, encouraging listeners to embrace the city's “can-do” attitude and support local businesses, like All-In-Aviation.
Key Takeaways:
- Exceptional Customer Service: All In Aviation sets itself apart by focusing on delivering an unparalleled client experience, complete with literal red carpet treatment for all customers.
- Quality Over Cost: While their services may be more expensive, the value delivered through high-end experiences and well-maintained, luxurious planes justifies the price.
- Importance of Employee Experience: All In Aviation understands that happy employees lead to happy customers, making the work environment & employee satisfaction a top priority.
- Flight Training and Aviation Safety: The school emphasizes training pilots to handle all conditions, particularly the challenging winds in Las Vegas, ensuring that their students are well-prepared for any situation.
- Building a Community in Vegas: Paul Sallach reflects on how the city of Las Vegas has evolved, especially after the October 1 tragedy, becoming a more tight-knit community that he is proud to be part of.
Connect with All In Aviation: @AllinAviation / 702-ALL-IN22 / AllinAviation.com
📲 Stay Connected to The VSR:
- Text the Podcast Hotline: 702-723-2343
- Social Media: @VegasStrongRevival
- Website: LaCritiqueLV.com/podcast
Let's keep the VegasStrong spirit alive! Share this episode with friends, family, and colleagues who love Las Vegas. Together, we can revive our city's passion for authentic service.
Stay strong, Vegas! 💪
**LEGAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS PODCAST AND THIS EPISODE CAN BE FOUND AT: LaCritiqueLV.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
La Critique believes in living a life full of
experiences rather thanpossessions, which is why we
designed a concierge servicejust for Vegas locals.
We're all busy, and can any ofus really keep up with all the
changes around town?
And yet, we still crave qualityexperiences when we go out and
spend our valuable time andmoney.
Now, imagine having a personalassistant whose credentials are
(00:23):
quite literally hospitality snoband expert event planner.
Seriously, leave all the detailsto us.
Recommendations Personalized.
Reservations?
Done.
More time enjoying our city andless time researching it?
Absolutely.
Subscribe today atLaCritiqueLV.com or give the
gift of service by purchasing asubscription for your favorite
(00:46):
person.
Welcome to the Vegas StrongRevival Podcast.
Buckle up because we're takingVegas Strong culture to a whole
new level this season.
I'm Britt Whelan, your host,alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe,
event professional and host ofthe Slightly Unfiltered Podcast.
This season, the gloves are offand we're ditching the scripts
for raw, relatable, and evenshocking conversations, tackling
(01:08):
real issues locals face, andbringing in voices from various
industries like fitness,charity, aviation, and more.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and visit Loughran
for more about how we're helpingresidents and local business
owners reconnect to the realmeaning of hospitality.
Ready or not, here we go.
Well, today is a very excitingday because I have Paul Salek
(01:32):
here in studio.
Thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Glad to be here, for
SPEAKER_01 (01:36):
sure.
For everybody who doesn't knowwho you are, let me just explain
a little bit about what I know.
Okay.
You are the president founder ofAll In Aviation.
It was established in 2016 withyour rock star wife and pilot,
Lindsay.
SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
That's correct.
SPEAKER_01 (01:54):
Although you originally are from Canada, you
moved here in 2009, awarded overthe years with 2020's Nevada
Small Business Person of theYear.
Holy crap.
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
2020 was not good except for that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
Right.
That's quite an accomplishment.
So congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:15):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (02:16):
You were also awarded Vegas inks 40 under 40
in 2021.
How did that feel?
SPEAKER_00 (02:22):
Uh, that was pretty cool.
A lot of it all sort ofculminated with opening our new
facility at the Hendersonexecutive airport.
Um, so we worked very closelywith the small business
administration to get thefunding and get all the stuff
lined up to do it.
And then everybody in the wholecity saw what we were doing, uh,
the city of Henderson primarily,um, with, with, uh,
construction, with the landlease, with, um, you know, just
(02:44):
building a whole new facilitythere that we, we got some
notice so it was it was reallyan honor to be part of the 40
under 40 I got it right as Iturned you know 41 so I think I
had a few days left to be 40 butit was great
SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
nice you are also a father of two awesome kids and
living in Henderson have youalways lived out there
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
yeah yeah when we moved to town we wanted we
wanted green grass so we wereattracted to Green Valley
because most of the area wasgreen yeah and And now it's
slowly not being green anymore,but that's where we've been and
where we love.
So yeah, we love Henderson.
SPEAKER_01 (03:24):
I also love Henderson and all of the things
that the city of Henderson hasbeen doing to promote community.
I've never lived on that side oftown personally, although I was
born and raised in Vegas.
Anyway, I've got some questionsfor you.
Feel free to just be yourself,answer them as you wish.
Obviously you have traveled toso many places all over the
(03:47):
world.
your pilots.
I mean, you can literallyprobably pick up and go anywhere
anytime you want, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:53):
Pretty much.
I mean, most of it is in theUnited States.
I've been to all 48 of the lowerstates.
I've just had the two outliersleft to go to say I've been to
every state.
But, you know, the United Stateshas about 6,000 airports and the
airlines only serve 400 of them.
So there's like 5,600 airportsthat people don't get to go to
(04:15):
unless you have your ownairplane or access to an
airplane.
So yeah, there's these tinylittle runways scattered all
over the place that I've beenfortunate enough to be able to
stop in, get gas, have a burger,whatever it might be, or just do
a touch and go and say thatwe've been there.
So yeah, America's the land ofthe free, the home of the brave,
and you don't really get toexperience that until you do it
(04:36):
in an airplane and reallyrealize how free we have it
here.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
I love that.
How many airports do we havehere in Las Vegas area?
SPEAKER_00 (04:43):
Las Vegas, there's seven.
Seven?
Yep, six of them are owned byClark.
So there's the Henderson Airportwhere we're at, there's
McCarran, there's the GeneAirport, there's North Las
Vegas, there's Nellis, and thenthere's Gene.
Nellis isn't owned by ClarkCounty, but it is still an
airport here in the city.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Private planes can fly into Nellis?
No.
Okay, I didn't think so.
No, you asked how many airportsthere are.
Yeah, okay, yeah, no, you'reright, you're right, you're
right.
That's fair.
So you've been so many places.
What do you love about living inLas Vegas?
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
I say this is the gateway to the West.
You know, anybody that wants todo anything on the West Coast I
think this is the place to go.
No one wants to really live inCalifornia anymore, but they
want to be close to California.
So I'd say this is the closestplace to be able to do that.
But Vegas, you know, there's nosnow here.
There's nonstop flights prettymuch anywhere.
There's entertainment.
There's no income tax.
(05:34):
There's no flying bugs.
I mean, this is like the bestplace
SPEAKER_01 (05:39):
on earth.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is there anything that reallystands out about Vegas in your
eyes that maybe isn't availableelsewhere?
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Well, having dinner after 9 p.m.
I can tell you flying to allthese little towns and these
little places, if you're notthere by 8 o'clock on the
ground, you're pretty much, youknow, maybe you're lucky to get
a drive-thru.
But there's, you know, the afterhours and just the dining and
all the restaurants that areavailable, I think is second to
(06:09):
none here in Las Vegas.
And then, of course, just, youknow, shows and entertainment.
We pretty much get everyheadliner.
So
SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
for all of us complaining that some of the
hours of operation of certainrestaurants changed after COVID.
Yeah.
I guess we should think twiceand be grateful for it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We're very lucky with what we'vegot here.
We can eat anywhere we wantpretty much anytime we want.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love it.
Okay.
What do you love most aboutflying?
SPEAKER_00 (06:36):
The freedom.
You don't, like I said before,you don't appreciate how free
you are until you get off theground and you can go anywhere
that you want.
I mean, there's certain airspaces that you're not allowed
to fly into.
But, you know, this is a hugecountry and you can pretty much
fly anywhere that the militarysays that you're not allowed to.
So getting close to the scenic,beautiful landscapes that are
(06:58):
around the country, being ableto fly by places like, you know,
Mount Rushmore or fly over theStatue of Liberty or touchdown
and, you know, first flightwhere the Wright brothers flew,
like just all these cool placesthat you're able to go to that
you really get access to bybeing a pilot.
SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
So I'm curious.
What made you become a pilotnow?
I've got to know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:21):
I mean, I honestly didn't want to have a desk job
is really all that it was.
I wanted to not sit in anoffice.
And there's not many jobs that,unless you want to be physical,
like construction and stuff likethat, I wanted to travel.
And really the only way to dothat was to be a pilot.
Interestingly enough, now Ipretty much have a desk job.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
Oh my gosh, isn't that funny?
SPEAKER_00 (07:45):
But I get to fly, so it's fun.
It's just kind of funny how that
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
works out.
Well, when you own a business, Ifeel like there's always desk
work to be done, right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:54):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Is flying around Vegas unique in any way compared
to flying around other parts ofthe country?
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
For sure.
I mean, every place has theirown things that make it unique.
I'd say what's unique aroundVegas is that we sit in a bowl,
right?
We have mountains pretty muchall around us.
So if you're taking off from,say, the North Las Vegas airport
and you want to go to LA,there's a whole bunch of
mountains and then there'sairspace.
So it's It's kind of a trickyplace to fly in and out of.
Once you get used to it, it's nobig deal.
(08:22):
At Henderson, we alwaystypically go to the east.
So you get to see things likethe Hoover Dam and the Grand
Canyon.
So I'd say those are definitelybucket list items for a lot of
pilots.
So we get a lot of people fromout of town that are like, hey,
I would love to go see theHoover Dam or fly over the Grand
(08:42):
Canyon, go to Sedona.
And those places are very muchwithin reach here in Las Vegas.
I
SPEAKER_01 (08:47):
was reading one of your Yelp reviews and one of the
guys from California was cominghere and I think he was in
flight school in California butwanted to fly here.
His review mentioned somethingabout wind and how it was really
challenging.
He had never experienced thatlevel of a rush before but it
was so great.
(09:08):
I have to say our wind in thevalley is really bad at times
and probably constant even soit's probably a constant thing
that you guys are considering.
How does that play a role inyour school?
SPEAKER_00 (09:23):
I mean, it certainly plays a role.
So everybody wants a perfect dayto go fly.
They want clear blue skies, nowind.
They want it to be excellent.
What we do have here in Vegas ispretty much blue skies every
day, right?
So we definitely can get in theair, but we might get bounced
around a little bit if it's alittle bit windy.
So I would say that it makesbetter pilots.
(09:43):
We do all the training herethrough pretty much all the wind
conditions unless it's extreme,but we really don't stop flying
because of the wind until itgets to be a safety concern.
So people that learn how to flyhere can pretty much go anywhere
and be equipped to safely takeoff and land in any wind
(10:03):
conditions.
So that's, I think, anadvantage.
SPEAKER_01 (10:05):
I don't know about you, but I'm a mountain biker.
Okay.
And we say the same thing aboutmountain biking here in Vegas.
If you can mountain bike inVegas on our terrain here, you
can mountain bike anywhere.
SPEAKER_00 (10:17):
Yeah.
Same thing for wind andairplanes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
Yeah, that's wild.
Okay, I love that.
We're going to switch it up alittle bit.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:23):
This show being the Vegas Strong Revival is really
hospitality focused.
And the reason you and I evengot connected in the first place
a while back was you have acertain level of hospitality
inside of your own business.
Sure.
I'm curious, what does the wordhospitality actually mean to
you?
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
I'd say that what it means to me is to deliver an
experience to a customer thatthey weren't expecting.
to preempt their expectationsand deliver something that they
didn't even know that couldexist.
I think getting ahead of yourcustomer is really what I would
say is the definition ofhospitality.
I don't know if that's what theyteach at UNLV, but we want to
(11:03):
make sure that we're deliveringthe best experience that
somebody can have.
And everybody that leaves here,I shouldn't say everybody, but
most people leave and say, man,I've been to flight schools all
over the world, and this is thebest flight training experience
that I've had.
So I feel like we're deliveringon that expectation, but it
takes a lot of work.
SPEAKER_01 (11:22):
One of the things as I was preparing to have this
chat with you was I've neverbeen in the aviation industry.
I've never known even what someof the standards would be,
especially when it comes toflight training schools, right?
SPEAKER_00 (11:38):
Well, let me just give you sort of the typical
flight school around thecountry.
So the typical flight school isrun by a flight instructor that
has become known in thecommunity or known at that
airport and then eventually theygo and buy an airplane and they
typically buy like the thecheapest airplane that they they
can afford in order to deliverthe most inexpensive and you
(12:02):
know cheap way for people tolearn how to fly so customers
pull up in their nice cars tolearn how to fly and they look
around and they're like thisplane is older than i am and
there's like duct tape likeholding the plane together and
the holes in the seats and umthat that is the experience that
a lot of people have going toflight schools because they're
genuinely trying to deliverflight training at the most
(12:24):
economical and cheap well I
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
can't imagine it is cheap
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
it's not
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
no
SPEAKER_00 (12:28):
so we go the other direction
SPEAKER_01 (12:30):
kind of cut some costs on certain things might
help the overall budget but atwhat cost are you willing to
risk your own safety
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
sure and I'm not here to suggest that there's any
safety concern because theseairplanes do have to go through
maintenance and they have to beThey have to be annually
inspected in the FAA.
But it's
SPEAKER_01 (12:50):
the concept, right?
You show up and you look at theplane that's older than you are
and even has duct tape on it,and the perception in your brain
won't change.
Correct.
That first impression lasts,right?
Correct.
SPEAKER_00 (13:06):
And that's where we're different.
So we tell everybody, hey,please tour all the flight
schools that you're considering.
You'll see the difference.
It's very evident.
Our planes are well-maintained.
They're cleaned.
They're hangard.
Our facilities are brand new.
We have individualized briefingrooms.
We make sure that we follow upwith customers.
(13:27):
That is typically what a lot ofpeople will interact with the
flight school is they'll not geta call back from the school
after they inquired because theguy that is running the place is
also the flight instructor andhe's flying all day and then
runs out of time.
So we have dedicated people justto take care of customer needs
and make sure that they're onthe ground and they're phone is
(13:47):
working and they're ready tomeet and give tours and make
sure that we're hospitable.
I
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
think you just answered my very next question.
It's like, what sets you apart?
As far as the hospitalitycomponent, walk me through what
a brand new customerexperiences, either calling your
business to inquire about flightschool.
And let's just talk about flightschool right now.
What that process looks like forsomebody who is brand new.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
Sure.
So the first thing that weencourage everybody to do is to
come in and take a tour and thensit down with their flight
training advisor.
So it seems like this crazyworld that is inaccessible, like
aviation.
So we want to welcome you in andsay, hey, let's just walk
through the halls.
Let's get you in the flightsimulator.
Let's show you the hangars.
Let's show you the airplanes.
You have a
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
flight simulator?
Uh-huh.
Oh, that's
SPEAKER_00 (14:37):
cool.
Yeah.
So then people go, oh my gosh,this is actually tangible.
I can touch it.
I can feel it.
I can sense it.
And then they sit down typicallyfor 30 minutes with the flight
training advisor and answer mostof the same questions.
How much does it cost?
How long does it take?
Can I borrow money to do it?
What are the medicalrequirements in order to do it?
(14:59):
Those are the high-level things.
SPEAKER_01 (15:02):
Medically?
I'm just curious.
Are certain people not medicallycleared to fly?
SPEAKER_00 (15:06):
Correct.
Oh, okay.
Everybody has to go through anFAA medical that the Federal
Aviation Administrationrequires.
So it depends on your age.
I'm over 40, so I have to goevery two years.
If you're under 40, it's everyfive years.
You have to prove that you havegood eyesight.
You can't be diabetic withoutcontrol.
You can't have heart problems.
You can't have dependencyissues.
(15:28):
There's a lot of things that theFAA doesn't want people flying
that are not physically fit ormentally fit.
I guess if I
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
really thought about it, I would have considered that
aspect.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
There's a lot of medications that are not allowed
by the FAA.
So we have that uncomfortable,like, hey, are you on X, Y, and
Z?
You can't be young.
you know, antidepressants andstuff like that.
And the FAA really wants to makesure that people that are in the
air are healthy.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Yep.
Well, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00 (15:56):
So that's the first thing that happens typically.
SPEAKER_01 (15:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
And then the second thing that happens is we
schedule you on a introductoryflight.
Okay.
Because a lot of people don'tknow if they're going to like
it, right?
Is this going to be, am I goingto get sick?
Am I going to be scared?
What's the situation going to belike?
And it's with one of our flightinstructors.
You typically go for an hourflight.
You're at the control You get todo a takeoff and you get to fly
around.
(16:20):
Maybe land depends on yourcapability, but normally the
instructor is going to do thelanding.
And typically everybody walksaway from that and they go, I'm
in like, let's do this.
Um, it is, it is a, a rush, asensation that, that you really
can't get, you know, anywhere,but maybe a racetrack, right.
Or sure.
Yeah.
You're free to do what you want.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:40):
Have you been out there?
SPEAKER_00 (16:41):
I have.
Yeah.
Very fun.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
Good time.
Good recognize the value ofhospitality.
I mean, you've clearly putthought into exceeding your
guest expectations, right?
That's been a constant themewith you.
Why do you think truly that itmatters to focus on that level
of hospitality for yourbusiness?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
I think people are willing to pay for, you know,
quality, like is really what itboils down to.
So we are more expensive thanother schools, but they get the
return on that dollar So we haveto constantly be delivering it
or else we're just like anyother flight school and they can
(17:23):
go somewhere else that'scheaper.
So I think we're always tryingto deliver on that value
proposition of you're going topay more, but you're going to
get more.
And we're going to work hard toprove that we're worth the extra
money.
SPEAKER_01 (17:34):
From a strictly business standpoint, it makes
your business more profitable tohave higher level hospitality.
SPEAKER_00 (17:42):
Yes, it costs us more, right?
It costs the customer more.
But at the end of the day,bigger number are bigger
numbers.
So we would rather have morepeople spending a little bit
more to get a better experienceand then our employees are
happier, our customers arehappier.
It's really a win-win for all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:59):
There's a new book coming out.
It is all about the employeeexperience.
Sure.
Employee experience from an HRperspective is kind of a newer
concept.
And I love that you mentionedthat your employees are happier,
right?
Because when we have happyemployees, we end up with happy
guests and then we end up with ahealthy, happy business.
(18:21):
I imagine you don't have a wholelot of turnover if you have
happy employees.
SPEAKER_00 (18:24):
Well, I mean, I wish I could say that, but the
aviation world is all aboutturnover.
So it's just part of thebusiness.
Yeah, because as soon as flightinstructors get a certain number
of hours, they're eligible to goto an airline and they're out
the door.
SPEAKER_01 (18:39):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (18:39):
So we want to make sure that we attract the best
instructors that we can getwhile we have them, knowing that
it's not necessarily necessarilygoing to be a long-term you know
employment but we get to pickthe best of the best because we
have a good workplaceenvironment we have nice
airplanes we pay better thaneverybody else so we're we're
the employer of choice for thethe you know that time that
(19:01):
they're yeah they're in thatstage of their career
SPEAKER_01 (19:03):
for sure have you ever flown commercial
SPEAKER_00 (19:06):
uh no no i was gonna i went to school to do it and
then september 11th happened andum it took me on a totally
different path here to do thisprivate stuff and i've just
never gone back i'm qualified Ido it, but I really don't want
to be a bus driver when I get todrive around in a high-end
airplane.
It's kind of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Let's take a second to help out all of our business
owners that listen to this show.
Sure.
Because in any industry, we havea foundation of hospitality.
There's always a transaction ofsome kind between the business
and the consumer.
What kind of advice could yougive other business owners,
specifically here in Las Vegas,on the topic of rolling out the
(19:48):
red carpet, because that'ssomething you and I've talked
about.
You love it when your guestsreally do feel the red carpet
has been rolled out for them.
I
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
mean, we literally have red carpets.
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
I need to come and see this
SPEAKER_00 (20:01):
for myself.
It's not just a metaphor.
We literally have red carpets atall of our plans for all of our
customers.
How do I translate that to otherbusinesses?
I'd say we could cut that cost,right?
You I think don't look for allthese cost cutting measures.
Look for ways to make yourcustomer feel special.
(20:23):
And I think that they'll bewilling to spend more money with
you.
If they feel special, they wantto come back.
They want to be there.
They want to be part of yourecosystem.
That's, I think, what anybusiness can do.
I like going back to businessesthat make me feel special.
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
Is there any level, like little touch points that
you make sure your trainers aredoing like a little thing like
even offering water
SPEAKER_00 (20:49):
right yeah we have a fridge full of water yeah cold
waters because it gets hot inthe summer months flying in las
vegas so yeah we have coldwaters for everybody little
things i think in the flighttraining world are like before
your flight your flightinstructor is going to reach out
to you and say hey my name is soand so and we're going to fly
tomorrow is there anything thatyou want to do in particular
(21:09):
right it's not just a
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
communication
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
it's not just a transaction you walk in the door
and say hey hop in we're goingit's it's really trying trying
to understand what the customerwants and deliver on their
wants.
SPEAKER_01 (21:21):
That's awesome.
Next question.
SPEAKER_00 (21:23):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (21:24):
Cost keeps coming up.
Sure.
Right?
Yeah.
I know some of our listeners areprobably hearing this or seeing
it and they're like, oh my gosh,I have been thinking about
becoming a pilot.
I really want to do it.
I should have done it duringCOVID.
I didn't.
Sure.
Whatever it is.
Sure.
What, generally speaking, are welooking at here for cost of
becoming a pilot through yourprogram?
SPEAKER_00 (21:45):
Sure.
So there's...
several layers of being a pilot.
If you just want to take yourfriends flying and go with your
family and your associates,that's called a private pilot.
So you just get your license andyou can rent one of our planes.
To do that, we have twodifferent types of planes.
We have Cessna planes, which area little bit more
cost-effective.
(22:06):
We tell people it's about$18,000to$20,000.
And if you're going to use theCirrus airplane, which is the
main staple of our business,it's a newer, it's
air-conditioned, it's a littlemore high-end airplane, it's
going to be about$30,000 to getyour private pilot license.
Then there's additional ratings.
Most of the time people, oncethey become a pilot, they say,
(22:27):
hey, it'd be nice to fly in theclouds.
I want to go to LA and there's amarine layer.
So if you want to be able to dothat, you have to get your
instrument rating and that wouldbe another same order of
magnitude.
So another 18, 20 or 30 grand.
So you're decide that this isthe career that you want to
(22:48):
make, you have to be acommercial pilot.
Commercial requires probablyanother 20 grand in the Cessna,
another 30 grand in the Cirrus.
And then lastly, I know I keepgoing, you typically want to
become a flight instructor tohelp accumulate hours and not
have to
SPEAKER_01 (23:06):
pay for the hours.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
And that one's less expensive, 10 grand or something
like that, 15 grand.
So if you're saying, hey, I wantto make a career in aviation, we
would tell you, all right, youcan do it.
You could do it in our Cessnas,probably 75, 80 grand.
You could do it in the Cirrus,110, 120.
But remember that as soon as yougo to an airline and you start
working for an airline, day onepay is like$100,000.
(23:28):
No way.
And then after five years, youshould be making 200 grand.
What?
So like the return on theinvestment is like, it's a lot
of money to learn how to fly.
But it's, you know, you could goto college and spend 100 grand
and you're not going tonecessarily guarantee the
$100,000 job.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
100,000 to become a pilot, andthen you got a$100,000 job.
(23:49):
That's what I'm here to tellyou.
You could go somewhere else anddo it cheaper.
And we talked about that wedon't do the cheapest, oldest
airplanes.
Yeah.
But that's rough order ofmagnitude, 100,000 to basically
make a career out of being apilot.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
And I heard your planes have air conditioning.
SPEAKER_00 (24:08):
The Cirruses do.
Oh, okay.
Yes.
All right.
Our Cessnas don't, but theCirruses do.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
I mean, is that kind of a luxury thing?
Oh, yeah.
sounded like it when i wasresearching or hearing it from
somebody
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
we're the only flight school in town that has
air conditioning
SPEAKER_01 (24:22):
oh my gosh
SPEAKER_00 (24:22):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (24:23):
what about like in the country is it pretty common
SPEAKER_00 (24:26):
anybody that has serious airplanes has air
conditioning but most schoolsare you know go into the the low
cost option and there's not airconditioning in those
SPEAKER_01 (24:35):
got it you have built a beautiful luxury
high-end high service high valueflight school but you actually
also help people purchaseplanes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (24:48):
So talk to me about that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
Sure.
So that's really been my career.
When I worked at CirrusAircraft, I was helping deliver
brand new airplanes.
And then I made a shift toselling used airplanes when the
recession came.
So I've been doing pre-ownedaircraft sales since 2008.
And you can rent a plane fromus.
But a lot of times people say,you know what, I really just
want to take my own airplane andgo somewhere for 10 days and not
(25:12):
worry about, you know, they wantthe plane back.
Yeah.
So that's been what I do is Isell airplanes all over the
country.
And what really prompted theflight school here in Vegas was
that I would sell airplanes topeople locally and then no one
was here to really take care ofthe customer after the sale.
SPEAKER_01 (25:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (25:31):
Because most of the flight schools did not cater to
that customer.
So we said, hey, let's start aschool that delivers high-end
quality training specific to theCirrus.
And we just went out and did iton our own.
And it turned into its wholeanimal of its own.
We were just trying to sell moreairplanes and now, you know, now
we've got a thriving business inflight training.
(25:52):
So, but my day job is stillselling airplanes.
SPEAKER_01 (25:55):
That's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_00 (25:56):
So I'm hoping to close the plane today, actually.
Really?
Yeah.
Okay.
Fingers crossed
SPEAKER_01 (26:00):
for you.
SPEAKER_00 (26:00):
In Tulsa, Oklahoma.
So yeah, hopefully when we'redone with this, I'll look at my
phone and it'll be a done deal.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Right on.
Yay.
Okay.
Fingers crossed for that.
Being the Vegas Strong Revivalpodcast, I got to ask, what does
Vegas Strong mean to you?
SPEAKER_00 (26:15):
I think Vegas Strong is where Vegas came together is
really what it means to me.
Like we lived here since, since09 and it was a transient, like,
you know, nobody was really fromhere.
It didn't seem anyways.
And it was very much like a comeand go kind of town.
And then when Vegas, you know,the tragedy happened and Vegas
Strong happened and the hockeyteam started crushing it.
(26:37):
Like we started having a cultureand a community of we are Vegas.
Like we were proud of it.
This is home.
This is not a, you You know,what happens here, stays here,
sort of like this is, we stayhere, right?
We stay here, yeah.
All the time.
So that's what it means to me iswhere we, I think, identified as
an awesome city and community,not just a place to visit, but a
(27:01):
place to live.
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
Isn't that interesting how the vibes before
October 1 still kind of feltvery transient?
You know, we always have hadcommunity and there's different
sectors of the valley that arevery community driven.
driven, I would say, you know,you have your pockets of
communities, but I have neverseen the entire city, the entire
(27:24):
valley come together as one bigpocket prior to October 1.
So I love hearing your thoughtson that.
As far as the revival component,how do you think that the city
is doing in regards to holdingon to that citywide community
concept?
SPEAKER_00 (27:42):
Um, I think we're trying to be everything to
everyone, right?
Like we're trying trying to bebaseball and basketball and
hockey, and we're trying to doit all.
And we're doing a pretty goodjob, but I think that maybe
we're a little distracted frombeing back to the city that we
all were so close back in 2018.
(28:03):
So I'm not a naysayer by anymeans, but I think we can get
back to how we were much more ofa close-knit community in 2018
and you know but i i still lovethis city so i don't want to
take it no no we don't
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
ever bash on vegas right like we of course have
complaints and certain thingsand we i mean we're a city a
very complex city very largecity and with those things comes
issues we have our own set ofissues but we always like the
people who live here everybodyloves vegas we all have this
certain level of pride for vegasso it's not bashing vegas it's
(28:43):
just simply saying hey we'reWe're a big city, we're complex,
we've got issues, but we stilllove it.
And hey, let's continue to makeit better.
So that's definitely where myheart is at.
I would say that the revivalcomponent is really gonna come
from people like you.
All the people I talk to on aregular basis to say, hey,
(29:04):
remember when?
Remember when we all just lovedand supported each other?
Do you remember any of thelittle things that happened
after the shooting that made yousay, my gosh this is so awesome
that our community is doing orlike this interaction
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
I had with somebody okay tell me yeah I'm from
Canada right so like hockey washuge and it just seemed like
nobody in town knew what hockeywas and then once September 1st
happened or October 1st happenedand oh my gosh everybody's like
an expert in hockey and theydon't even know what offsides is
like it was it was really kindof funny for me that was the big
(29:40):
thing it's like to to get thethe city to be behind hockey was
was so exciting.
And now kids play hockey inleagues and they're going
gangbusters.
There's now, what, three newhockey rinks in town, soon to be
a fourth new rink in town.
So sorry to go sports on you,but that's really my takeaway.
But it's true.
The
SPEAKER_01 (30:01):
Golden Knights made this city come together in a
positive way.
Maybe that's not even the rightword, but it gave the city a
positive focus
SPEAKER_00 (30:12):
rather than the...
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:17):
And that brought a whole level of community in
addition to the Vegas Strongmessaging that was happening at
the time.
We had Go Knights Go.
So your perspective is spot on.
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Is
SPEAKER_01 (30:29):
there anything else you'd like to add while you're
here?
No, I
SPEAKER_00 (30:32):
think Vegas has the we can do it attitude, right?
We can do anything.
And I do really love that aboutthis city is we go out and we
set our sights on something andwe try to crush it and we tip
typically do a pretty good jobof it.
So best city in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
Amen to that.
Paul, thank you so much forbeing here.
SPEAKER_00 (30:51):
Thank you for having me.
If
SPEAKER_01 (30:52):
you have any last words for any of our listeners
as far as aviation, your love ofthe city, anything at all, feel
free to
SPEAKER_00 (31:00):
speak your piece.
I mean, I would just say, like Isaid, the first step is to set
up a tour.
So come visit us at theHenderson Executive Airport.
We do tours all the time.
Sit down in a plane so you canreally get a sense of like what
we do and maybe it'll light afire and get you on a, an
aviation journey you didn't knowthat you even wanted to start so
SPEAKER_01 (31:18):
absolutely so what's the best way for people to
contact you
SPEAKER_00 (31:22):
yeah get a hold of us our flight training advisor
you'll find all the informationon all in aviation.com schedule
a tour that's that is all
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
in aviation.com a l l i n aviation.com phone number
and website i will list in theshow notes as well
SPEAKER_00 (31:39):
702 all in 22 is our phone number so that's easy yeah
SPEAKER_01 (31:43):
fun
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
we fly sr 22 The Cirrus, that's the model.
So
SPEAKER_01 (31:47):
you got the 22.
SPEAKER_00 (31:48):
Yeah, all in 22.
And that's my jersey.
Anytime that you see all in 22on the back of a Golden Knights
jersey, it's me.
Now I'm going to know.
SPEAKER_01 (31:57):
I don't even want to know how much you paid for that
phone number.
SPEAKER_00 (32:00):
It was available.
Yeah, it actually worked out.
SPEAKER_01 (32:02):
You can't even get 702 numbers anymore without
paying for them.
Did you know that?
Speaking of our wild city.
Paul, you're amazing.
I can't wait to come check outyour facility.
And until next time.
SPEAKER_00 (32:13):
Go all in.
SPEAKER_01 (32:14):
And that's a wrap.
on this episode of the VegasStrong Revival Podcast.
I hope you found our discussionengaging and even
thought-provoking.
A big shout-out to all of ouramazing listeners for tuning in
and supporting the show becauseit truly means the world to us,
so thank you.
Let's keep the Vegas Strongspirit alive.
Share this podcast with yourfriends, family, colleagues, and
just anyone who loves Vegas.
(32:35):
If you have ideas, suggestions,or want to be a guest on the
show, simply reach out online orfeel free to text us on our
super cool podcast hotline,702-7255.
And of course, don't forget tosubscribe to the show on your
favorite podcast platform so younever miss an episode.
Let's keep pushing theboundaries and reviving our
(32:56):
city's passion for authenticservice together.
Stay strong, Vegas.
La Critique believes in living a life full of
experiences rather thanpossessions, which is why we
designed a concierge servicejust for Vegas locals.
We're all busy, and can any ofus really keep up with all the
changes around town?
And yet, we still crave qualityexperiences when we go out and
spend our valuable time andmoney.
Now, imagine having a personalassistant whose credentials are
(00:23):
quite literally hospitality snoband expert event planner.
Seriously, leave all the detailsto us.
Recommendations Personalized.
Reservations?
Done.
More time enjoying our city andless time researching it?
Absolutely.
Subscribe today atLaCritiqueLV.com or give the
gift of service by purchasing asubscription for your favorite
(00:46):
person.
Welcome to the Vegas StrongRevival Podcast.
Buckle up because we're takingVegas Strong culture to a whole
new level this season.
I'm Britt Whelan, your host,alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe,
event professional and host ofthe Slightly Unfiltered Podcast.
This season, the gloves are offand we're ditching the scripts
for raw, relatable, and evenshocking conversations, tackling
(01:08):
real issues locals face, andbringing in voices from various
industries like fitness,charity, aviation, and more.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and visit Loughran
for more about how we're helpingresidents and local business
owners reconnect to the realmeaning of hospitality.
Ready or not, here we go.
Well, today is a very excitingday because I have Paul Salek
(01:32):
here in studio.
Thank you for being here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Glad to be here, for
SPEAKER_01 (01:36):
sure.
For everybody who doesn't knowwho you are, let me just explain
a little bit about what I know.
Okay.
You are the president founder ofAll In Aviation.
It was established in 2016 withyour rock star wife and pilot,
Lindsay.
SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
That's correct.
SPEAKER_01 (01:54):
Although you originally are from Canada, you
moved here in 2009, awarded overthe years with 2020's Nevada
Small Business Person of theYear.
Holy crap.
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
2020 was not good except for that.
SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
Right.
That's quite an accomplishment.
So congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:15):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (02:16):
You were also awarded Vegas inks 40 under 40
in 2021.
How did that feel?
SPEAKER_00 (02:22):
Uh, that was pretty cool.
A lot of it all sort ofculminated with opening our new
facility at the Hendersonexecutive airport.
Um, so we worked very closelywith the small business
administration to get thefunding and get all the stuff
lined up to do it.
And then everybody in the wholecity saw what we were doing, uh,
the city of Henderson primarily,um, with, with, uh,
construction, with the landlease, with, um, you know, just
(02:44):
building a whole new facilitythere that we, we got some
notice so it was it was reallyan honor to be part of the 40
under 40 I got it right as Iturned you know 41 so I think I
had a few days left to be 40 butit was great
SPEAKER_01 (02:59):
nice you are also a father of two awesome kids and
living in Henderson have youalways lived out there
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
yeah yeah when we moved to town we wanted we
wanted green grass so we wereattracted to Green Valley
because most of the area wasgreen yeah and And now it's
slowly not being green anymore,but that's where we've been and
where we love.
So yeah, we love Henderson.
SPEAKER_01 (03:24):
I also love Henderson and all of the things
that the city of Henderson hasbeen doing to promote community.
I've never lived on that side oftown personally, although I was
born and raised in Vegas.
Anyway, I've got some questionsfor you.
Feel free to just be yourself,answer them as you wish.
Obviously you have traveled toso many places all over the
(03:47):
world.
your pilots.
I mean, you can literallyprobably pick up and go anywhere
anytime you want, right?
SPEAKER_00 (03:53):
Pretty much.
I mean, most of it is in theUnited States.
I've been to all 48 of the lowerstates.
I've just had the two outliersleft to go to say I've been to
every state.
But, you know, the United Stateshas about 6,000 airports and the
airlines only serve 400 of them.
So there's like 5,600 airportsthat people don't get to go to
(04:15):
unless you have your ownairplane or access to an
airplane.
So yeah, there's these tinylittle runways scattered all
over the place that I've beenfortunate enough to be able to
stop in, get gas, have a burger,whatever it might be, or just do
a touch and go and say thatwe've been there.
So yeah, America's the land ofthe free, the home of the brave,
and you don't really get toexperience that until you do it
(04:36):
in an airplane and reallyrealize how free we have it
here.
SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
I love that.
How many airports do we havehere in Las Vegas area?
SPEAKER_00 (04:43):
Las Vegas, there's seven.
Seven?
Yep, six of them are owned byClark.
So there's the Henderson Airportwhere we're at, there's
McCarran, there's the GeneAirport, there's North Las
Vegas, there's Nellis, and thenthere's Gene.
Nellis isn't owned by ClarkCounty, but it is still an
airport here in the city.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Private planes can fly into Nellis?
No.
Okay, I didn't think so.
No, you asked how many airportsthere are.
Yeah, okay, yeah, no, you'reright, you're right, you're
right.
That's fair.
So you've been so many places.
What do you love about living inLas Vegas?
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
I say this is the gateway to the West.
You know, anybody that wants todo anything on the West Coast I
think this is the place to go.
No one wants to really live inCalifornia anymore, but they
want to be close to California.
So I'd say this is the closestplace to be able to do that.
But Vegas, you know, there's nosnow here.
There's nonstop flights prettymuch anywhere.
There's entertainment.
There's no income tax.
(05:34):
There's no flying bugs.
I mean, this is like the bestplace
SPEAKER_01 (05:39):
on earth.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is there anything that reallystands out about Vegas in your
eyes that maybe isn't availableelsewhere?
SPEAKER_00 (05:48):
Well, having dinner after 9 p.m.
I can tell you flying to allthese little towns and these
little places, if you're notthere by 8 o'clock on the
ground, you're pretty much, youknow, maybe you're lucky to get
a drive-thru.
But there's, you know, the afterhours and just the dining and
all the restaurants that areavailable, I think is second to
(06:09):
none here in Las Vegas.
And then, of course, just, youknow, shows and entertainment.
We pretty much get everyheadliner.
So
SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
for all of us complaining that some of the
hours of operation of certainrestaurants changed after COVID.
Yeah.
I guess we should think twiceand be grateful for it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We're very lucky with what we'vegot here.
We can eat anywhere we wantpretty much anytime we want.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love it.
Okay.
What do you love most aboutflying?
SPEAKER_00 (06:36):
The freedom.
You don't, like I said before,you don't appreciate how free
you are until you get off theground and you can go anywhere
that you want.
I mean, there's certain airspaces that you're not allowed
to fly into.
But, you know, this is a hugecountry and you can pretty much
fly anywhere that the militarysays that you're not allowed to.
So getting close to the scenic,beautiful landscapes that are
(06:58):
around the country, being ableto fly by places like, you know,
Mount Rushmore or fly over theStatue of Liberty or touchdown
and, you know, first flightwhere the Wright brothers flew,
like just all these cool placesthat you're able to go to that
you really get access to bybeing a pilot.
SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
So I'm curious.
What made you become a pilotnow?
I've got to know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:21):
I mean, I honestly didn't want to have a desk job
is really all that it was.
I wanted to not sit in anoffice.
And there's not many jobs that,unless you want to be physical,
like construction and stuff likethat, I wanted to travel.
And really the only way to dothat was to be a pilot.
Interestingly enough, now Ipretty much have a desk job.
SPEAKER_01 (07:44):
Oh my gosh, isn't that funny?
SPEAKER_00 (07:45):
But I get to fly, so it's fun.
It's just kind of funny how that
SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
works out.
Well, when you own a business, Ifeel like there's always desk
work to be done, right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:54):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
Is flying around Vegas unique in any way compared
to flying around other parts ofthe country?
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
For sure.
I mean, every place has theirown things that make it unique.
I'd say what's unique aroundVegas is that we sit in a bowl,
right?
We have mountains pretty muchall around us.
So if you're taking off from,say, the North Las Vegas airport
and you want to go to LA,there's a whole bunch of
mountains and then there'sairspace.
So it's It's kind of a trickyplace to fly in and out of.
Once you get used to it, it's nobig deal.
(08:22):
At Henderson, we alwaystypically go to the east.
So you get to see things likethe Hoover Dam and the Grand
Canyon.
So I'd say those are definitelybucket list items for a lot of
pilots.
So we get a lot of people fromout of town that are like, hey,
I would love to go see theHoover Dam or fly over the Grand
(08:42):
Canyon, go to Sedona.
And those places are very muchwithin reach here in Las Vegas.
I
SPEAKER_01 (08:47):
was reading one of your Yelp reviews and one of the
guys from California was cominghere and I think he was in
flight school in California butwanted to fly here.
His review mentioned somethingabout wind and how it was really
challenging.
He had never experienced thatlevel of a rush before but it
was so great.
(09:08):
I have to say our wind in thevalley is really bad at times
and probably constant even soit's probably a constant thing
that you guys are considering.
How does that play a role inyour school?
SPEAKER_00 (09:23):
I mean, it certainly plays a role.
So everybody wants a perfect dayto go fly.
They want clear blue skies, nowind.
They want it to be excellent.
What we do have here in Vegas ispretty much blue skies every
day, right?
So we definitely can get in theair, but we might get bounced
around a little bit if it's alittle bit windy.
So I would say that it makesbetter pilots.
(09:43):
We do all the training herethrough pretty much all the wind
conditions unless it's extreme,but we really don't stop flying
because of the wind until itgets to be a safety concern.
So people that learn how to flyhere can pretty much go anywhere
and be equipped to safely takeoff and land in any wind
(10:03):
conditions.
So that's, I think, anadvantage.
SPEAKER_01 (10:05):
I don't know about you, but I'm a mountain biker.
Okay.
And we say the same thing aboutmountain biking here in Vegas.
If you can mountain bike inVegas on our terrain here, you
can mountain bike anywhere.
SPEAKER_00 (10:17):
Yeah.
Same thing for wind andairplanes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
Yeah, that's wild.
Okay, I love that.
We're going to switch it up alittle bit.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:23):
This show being the Vegas Strong Revival is really
hospitality focused.
And the reason you and I evengot connected in the first place
a while back was you have acertain level of hospitality
inside of your own business.
Sure.
I'm curious, what does the wordhospitality actually mean to
you?
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
I'd say that what it means to me is to deliver an
experience to a customer thatthey weren't expecting.
to preempt their expectationsand deliver something that they
didn't even know that couldexist.
I think getting ahead of yourcustomer is really what I would
say is the definition ofhospitality.
I don't know if that's what theyteach at UNLV, but we want to
(11:03):
make sure that we're deliveringthe best experience that
somebody can have.
And everybody that leaves here,I shouldn't say everybody, but
most people leave and say, man,I've been to flight schools all
over the world, and this is thebest flight training experience
that I've had.
So I feel like we're deliveringon that expectation, but it
takes a lot of work.
SPEAKER_01 (11:22):
One of the things as I was preparing to have this
chat with you was I've neverbeen in the aviation industry.
I've never known even what someof the standards would be,
especially when it comes toflight training schools, right?
SPEAKER_00 (11:38):
Well, let me just give you sort of the typical
flight school around thecountry.
So the typical flight school isrun by a flight instructor that
has become known in thecommunity or known at that
airport and then eventually theygo and buy an airplane and they
typically buy like the thecheapest airplane that they they
can afford in order to deliverthe most inexpensive and you
(12:02):
know cheap way for people tolearn how to fly so customers
pull up in their nice cars tolearn how to fly and they look
around and they're like thisplane is older than i am and
there's like duct tape likeholding the plane together and
the holes in the seats and umthat that is the experience that
a lot of people have going toflight schools because they're
genuinely trying to deliverflight training at the most
(12:24):
economical and cheap well I
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
can't imagine it is cheap
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
it's not
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
no
SPEAKER_00 (12:28):
so we go the other direction
SPEAKER_01 (12:30):
kind of cut some costs on certain things might
help the overall budget but atwhat cost are you willing to
risk your own safety
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
sure and I'm not here to suggest that there's any
safety concern because theseairplanes do have to go through
maintenance and they have to beThey have to be annually
inspected in the FAA.
But it's
SPEAKER_01 (12:50):
the concept, right?
You show up and you look at theplane that's older than you are
and even has duct tape on it,and the perception in your brain
won't change.
Correct.
That first impression lasts,right?
Correct.
SPEAKER_00 (13:06):
And that's where we're different.
So we tell everybody, hey,please tour all the flight
schools that you're considering.
You'll see the difference.
It's very evident.
Our planes are well-maintained.
They're cleaned.
They're hangard.
Our facilities are brand new.
We have individualized briefingrooms.
We make sure that we follow upwith customers.
(13:27):
That is typically what a lot ofpeople will interact with the
flight school is they'll not geta call back from the school
after they inquired because theguy that is running the place is
also the flight instructor andhe's flying all day and then
runs out of time.
So we have dedicated people justto take care of customer needs
and make sure that they're onthe ground and they're phone is
(13:47):
working and they're ready tomeet and give tours and make
sure that we're hospitable.
I
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
think you just answered my very next question.
It's like, what sets you apart?
As far as the hospitalitycomponent, walk me through what
a brand new customerexperiences, either calling your
business to inquire about flightschool.
And let's just talk about flightschool right now.
What that process looks like forsomebody who is brand new.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
Sure.
So the first thing that weencourage everybody to do is to
come in and take a tour and thensit down with their flight
training advisor.
So it seems like this crazyworld that is inaccessible, like
aviation.
So we want to welcome you in andsay, hey, let's just walk
through the halls.
Let's get you in the flightsimulator.
Let's show you the hangars.
Let's show you the airplanes.
You have a
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
flight simulator?
Uh-huh.
Oh, that's
SPEAKER_00 (14:37):
cool.
Yeah.
So then people go, oh my gosh,this is actually tangible.
I can touch it.
I can feel it.
I can sense it.
And then they sit down typicallyfor 30 minutes with the flight
training advisor and answer mostof the same questions.
How much does it cost?
How long does it take?
Can I borrow money to do it?
What are the medicalrequirements in order to do it?
(14:59):
Those are the high-level things.
SPEAKER_01 (15:02):
Medically?
I'm just curious.
Are certain people not medicallycleared to fly?
SPEAKER_00 (15:06):
Correct.
Oh, okay.
Everybody has to go through anFAA medical that the Federal
Aviation Administrationrequires.
So it depends on your age.
I'm over 40, so I have to goevery two years.
If you're under 40, it's everyfive years.
You have to prove that you havegood eyesight.
You can't be diabetic withoutcontrol.
You can't have heart problems.
You can't have dependencyissues.
(15:28):
There's a lot of things that theFAA doesn't want people flying
that are not physically fit ormentally fit.
I guess if I
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
really thought about it, I would have considered that
aspect.
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
There's a lot of medications that are not allowed
by the FAA.
So we have that uncomfortable,like, hey, are you on X, Y, and
Z?
You can't be young.
you know, antidepressants andstuff like that.
And the FAA really wants to makesure that people that are in the
air are healthy.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Yep.
Well, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00 (15:56):
So that's the first thing that happens typically.
SPEAKER_01 (15:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
And then the second thing that happens is we
schedule you on a introductoryflight.
Okay.
Because a lot of people don'tknow if they're going to like
it, right?
Is this going to be, am I goingto get sick?
Am I going to be scared?
What's the situation going to belike?
And it's with one of our flightinstructors.
You typically go for an hourflight.
You're at the control You get todo a takeoff and you get to fly
around.
(16:20):
Maybe land depends on yourcapability, but normally the
instructor is going to do thelanding.
And typically everybody walksaway from that and they go, I'm
in like, let's do this.
Um, it is, it is a, a rush, asensation that, that you really
can't get, you know, anywhere,but maybe a racetrack, right.
Or sure.
Yeah.
You're free to do what you want.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:40):
Have you been out there?
SPEAKER_00 (16:41):
I have.
Yeah.
Very fun.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
Good time.
Good recognize the value ofhospitality.
I mean, you've clearly putthought into exceeding your
guest expectations, right?
That's been a constant themewith you.
Why do you think truly that itmatters to focus on that level
of hospitality for yourbusiness?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
I think people are willing to pay for, you know,
quality, like is really what itboils down to.
So we are more expensive thanother schools, but they get the
return on that dollar So we haveto constantly be delivering it
or else we're just like anyother flight school and they can
(17:23):
go somewhere else that'scheaper.
So I think we're always tryingto deliver on that value
proposition of you're going topay more, but you're going to
get more.
And we're going to work hard toprove that we're worth the extra
money.
SPEAKER_01 (17:34):
From a strictly business standpoint, it makes
your business more profitable tohave higher level hospitality.
SPEAKER_00 (17:42):
Yes, it costs us more, right?
It costs the customer more.
But at the end of the day,bigger number are bigger
numbers.
So we would rather have morepeople spending a little bit
more to get a better experienceand then our employees are
happier, our customers arehappier.
It's really a win-win for all.
SPEAKER_01 (17:59):
There's a new book coming out.
It is all about the employeeexperience.
Sure.
Employee experience from an HRperspective is kind of a newer
concept.
And I love that you mentionedthat your employees are happier,
right?
Because when we have happyemployees, we end up with happy
guests and then we end up with ahealthy, happy business.
(18:21):
I imagine you don't have a wholelot of turnover if you have
happy employees.
SPEAKER_00 (18:24):
Well, I mean, I wish I could say that, but the
aviation world is all aboutturnover.
So it's just part of thebusiness.
Yeah, because as soon as flightinstructors get a certain number
of hours, they're eligible to goto an airline and they're out
the door.
SPEAKER_01 (18:39):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (18:39):
So we want to make sure that we attract the best
instructors that we can getwhile we have them, knowing that
it's not necessarily necessarilygoing to be a long-term you know
employment but we get to pickthe best of the best because we
have a good workplaceenvironment we have nice
airplanes we pay better thaneverybody else so we're we're
the employer of choice for thethe you know that time that
(19:01):
they're yeah they're in thatstage of their career
SPEAKER_01 (19:03):
for sure have you ever flown commercial
SPEAKER_00 (19:06):
uh no no i was gonna i went to school to do it and
then september 11th happened andum it took me on a totally
different path here to do thisprivate stuff and i've just
never gone back i'm qualified Ido it, but I really don't want
to be a bus driver when I get todrive around in a high-end
airplane.
It's kind of fun.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Let's take a second to help out all of our business
owners that listen to this show.
Sure.
Because in any industry, we havea foundation of hospitality.
There's always a transaction ofsome kind between the business
and the consumer.
What kind of advice could yougive other business owners,
specifically here in Las Vegas,on the topic of rolling out the
(19:48):
red carpet, because that'ssomething you and I've talked
about.
You love it when your guestsreally do feel the red carpet
has been rolled out for them.
I
SPEAKER_00 (19:56):
mean, we literally have red carpets.
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
I need to come and see this
SPEAKER_00 (20:01):
for myself.
It's not just a metaphor.
We literally have red carpets atall of our plans for all of our
customers.
How do I translate that to otherbusinesses?
I'd say we could cut that cost,right?
You I think don't look for allthese cost cutting measures.
Look for ways to make yourcustomer feel special.
(20:23):
And I think that they'll bewilling to spend more money with
you.
If they feel special, they wantto come back.
They want to be there.
They want to be part of yourecosystem.
That's, I think, what anybusiness can do.
I like going back to businessesthat make me feel special.
SPEAKER_01 (20:40):
Is there any level, like little touch points that
you make sure your trainers aredoing like a little thing like
even offering water
SPEAKER_00 (20:49):
right yeah we have a fridge full of water yeah cold
waters because it gets hot inthe summer months flying in las
vegas so yeah we have coldwaters for everybody little
things i think in the flighttraining world are like before
your flight your flightinstructor is going to reach out
to you and say hey my name is soand so and we're going to fly
tomorrow is there anything thatyou want to do in particular
(21:09):
right it's not just a
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
communication
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
it's not just a transaction you walk in the door
and say hey hop in we're goingit's it's really trying trying
to understand what the customerwants and deliver on their
wants.
SPEAKER_01 (21:21):
That's awesome.
Next question.
SPEAKER_00 (21:23):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (21:24):
Cost keeps coming up.
Sure.
Right?
Yeah.
I know some of our listeners areprobably hearing this or seeing
it and they're like, oh my gosh,I have been thinking about
becoming a pilot.
I really want to do it.
I should have done it duringCOVID.
I didn't.
Sure.
Whatever it is.
Sure.
What, generally speaking, are welooking at here for cost of
becoming a pilot through yourprogram?
SPEAKER_00 (21:45):
Sure.
So there's...
several layers of being a pilot.
If you just want to take yourfriends flying and go with your
family and your associates,that's called a private pilot.
So you just get your license andyou can rent one of our planes.
To do that, we have twodifferent types of planes.
We have Cessna planes, which area little bit more
cost-effective.
(22:06):
We tell people it's about$18,000to$20,000.
And if you're going to use theCirrus airplane, which is the
main staple of our business,it's a newer, it's
air-conditioned, it's a littlemore high-end airplane, it's
going to be about$30,000 to getyour private pilot license.
Then there's additional ratings.
Most of the time people, oncethey become a pilot, they say,
(22:27):
hey, it'd be nice to fly in theclouds.
I want to go to LA and there's amarine layer.
So if you want to be able to dothat, you have to get your
instrument rating and that wouldbe another same order of
magnitude.
So another 18, 20 or 30 grand.
So you're decide that this isthe career that you want to
(22:48):
make, you have to be acommercial pilot.
Commercial requires probablyanother 20 grand in the Cessna,
another 30 grand in the Cirrus.
And then lastly, I know I keepgoing, you typically want to
become a flight instructor tohelp accumulate hours and not
have to
SPEAKER_01 (23:06):
pay for the hours.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
And that one's less expensive, 10 grand or something
like that, 15 grand.
So if you're saying, hey, I wantto make a career in aviation, we
would tell you, all right, youcan do it.
You could do it in our Cessnas,probably 75, 80 grand.
You could do it in the Cirrus,110, 120.
But remember that as soon as yougo to an airline and you start
working for an airline, day onepay is like$100,000.
(23:28):
No way.
And then after five years, youshould be making 200 grand.
What?
So like the return on theinvestment is like, it's a lot
of money to learn how to fly.
But it's, you know, you could goto college and spend 100 grand
and you're not going tonecessarily guarantee the
$100,000 job.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
100,000 to become a pilot, andthen you got a$100,000 job.
(23:49):
That's what I'm here to tellyou.
You could go somewhere else anddo it cheaper.
And we talked about that wedon't do the cheapest, oldest
airplanes.
Yeah.
But that's rough order ofmagnitude, 100,000 to basically
make a career out of being apilot.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
And I heard your planes have air conditioning.
SPEAKER_00 (24:08):
The Cirruses do.
Oh, okay.
Yes.
All right.
Our Cessnas don't, but theCirruses do.
SPEAKER_01 (24:12):
I mean, is that kind of a luxury thing?
Oh, yeah.
sounded like it when i wasresearching or hearing it from
somebody
SPEAKER_00 (24:19):
we're the only flight school in town that has
air conditioning
SPEAKER_01 (24:22):
oh my gosh
SPEAKER_00 (24:22):
yeah
SPEAKER_01 (24:23):
what about like in the country is it pretty common
SPEAKER_00 (24:26):
anybody that has serious airplanes has air
conditioning but most schoolsare you know go into the the low
cost option and there's not airconditioning in those
SPEAKER_01 (24:35):
got it you have built a beautiful luxury
high-end high service high valueflight school but you actually
also help people purchaseplanes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (24:48):
So talk to me about that.
SPEAKER_00 (24:49):
Sure.
So that's really been my career.
When I worked at CirrusAircraft, I was helping deliver
brand new airplanes.
And then I made a shift toselling used airplanes when the
recession came.
So I've been doing pre-ownedaircraft sales since 2008.
And you can rent a plane fromus.
But a lot of times people say,you know what, I really just
want to take my own airplane andgo somewhere for 10 days and not
(25:12):
worry about, you know, they wantthe plane back.
Yeah.
So that's been what I do is Isell airplanes all over the
country.
And what really prompted theflight school here in Vegas was
that I would sell airplanes topeople locally and then no one
was here to really take care ofthe customer after the sale.
SPEAKER_01 (25:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (25:31):
Because most of the flight schools did not cater to
that customer.
So we said, hey, let's start aschool that delivers high-end
quality training specific to theCirrus.
And we just went out and did iton our own.
And it turned into its wholeanimal of its own.
We were just trying to sell moreairplanes and now, you know, now
we've got a thriving business inflight training.
(25:52):
So, but my day job is stillselling airplanes.
SPEAKER_01 (25:55):
That's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_00 (25:56):
So I'm hoping to close the plane today, actually.
Really?
Yeah.
Okay.
Fingers crossed
SPEAKER_01 (26:00):
for you.
SPEAKER_00 (26:00):
In Tulsa, Oklahoma.
So yeah, hopefully when we'redone with this, I'll look at my
phone and it'll be a done deal.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Right on.
Yay.
Okay.
Fingers crossed for that.
Being the Vegas Strong Revivalpodcast, I got to ask, what does
Vegas Strong mean to you?
SPEAKER_00 (26:15):
I think Vegas Strong is where Vegas came together is
really what it means to me.
Like we lived here since, since09 and it was a transient, like,
you know, nobody was really fromhere.
It didn't seem anyways.
And it was very much like a comeand go kind of town.
And then when Vegas, you know,the tragedy happened and Vegas
Strong happened and the hockeyteam started crushing it.
(26:37):
Like we started having a cultureand a community of we are Vegas.
Like we were proud of it.
This is home.
This is not a, you You know,what happens here, stays here,
sort of like this is, we stayhere, right?
We stay here, yeah.
All the time.
So that's what it means to me iswhere we, I think, identified as
an awesome city and community,not just a place to visit, but a
(27:01):
place to live.
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
Isn't that interesting how the vibes before
October 1 still kind of feltvery transient?
You know, we always have hadcommunity and there's different
sectors of the valley that arevery community driven.
driven, I would say, you know,you have your pockets of
communities, but I have neverseen the entire city, the entire
(27:24):
valley come together as one bigpocket prior to October 1.
So I love hearing your thoughtson that.
As far as the revival component,how do you think that the city
is doing in regards to holdingon to that citywide community
concept?
SPEAKER_00 (27:42):
Um, I think we're trying to be everything to
everyone, right?
Like we're trying trying to bebaseball and basketball and
hockey, and we're trying to doit all.
And we're doing a pretty goodjob, but I think that maybe
we're a little distracted frombeing back to the city that we
all were so close back in 2018.
(28:03):
So I'm not a naysayer by anymeans, but I think we can get
back to how we were much more ofa close-knit community in 2018
and you know but i i still lovethis city so i don't want to
take it no no we don't
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
ever bash on vegas right like we of course have
complaints and certain thingsand we i mean we're a city a
very complex city very largecity and with those things comes
issues we have our own set ofissues but we always like the
people who live here everybodyloves vegas we all have this
certain level of pride for vegasso it's not bashing vegas it's
(28:43):
just simply saying hey we'reWe're a big city, we're complex,
we've got issues, but we stilllove it.
And hey, let's continue to makeit better.
So that's definitely where myheart is at.
I would say that the revivalcomponent is really gonna come
from people like you.
All the people I talk to on aregular basis to say, hey,
(29:04):
remember when?
Remember when we all just lovedand supported each other?
Do you remember any of thelittle things that happened
after the shooting that made yousay, my gosh this is so awesome
that our community is doing orlike this interaction
SPEAKER_00 (29:20):
I had with somebody okay tell me yeah I'm from
Canada right so like hockey washuge and it just seemed like
nobody in town knew what hockeywas and then once September 1st
happened or October 1st happenedand oh my gosh everybody's like
an expert in hockey and theydon't even know what offsides is
like it was it was really kindof funny for me that was the big
(29:40):
thing it's like to to get thethe city to be behind hockey was
was so exciting.
And now kids play hockey inleagues and they're going
gangbusters.
There's now, what, three newhockey rinks in town, soon to be
a fourth new rink in town.
So sorry to go sports on you,but that's really my takeaway.
But it's true.
The
SPEAKER_01 (30:01):
Golden Knights made this city come together in a
positive way.
Maybe that's not even the rightword, but it gave the city a
positive focus
SPEAKER_00 (30:12):
rather than the...
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:17):
And that brought a whole level of community in
addition to the Vegas Strongmessaging that was happening at
the time.
We had Go Knights Go.
So your perspective is spot on.
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Is
SPEAKER_01 (30:29):
there anything else you'd like to add while you're
here?
No, I
SPEAKER_00 (30:32):
think Vegas has the we can do it attitude, right?
We can do anything.
And I do really love that aboutthis city is we go out and we
set our sights on something andwe try to crush it and we tip
typically do a pretty good jobof it.
So best city in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
Amen to that.
Paul, thank you so much forbeing here.
SPEAKER_00 (30:51):
Thank you for having me.
If
SPEAKER_01 (30:52):
you have any last words for any of our listeners
as far as aviation, your love ofthe city, anything at all, feel
free to
SPEAKER_00 (31:00):
speak your piece.
I mean, I would just say, like Isaid, the first step is to set
up a tour.
So come visit us at theHenderson Executive Airport.
We do tours all the time.
Sit down in a plane so you canreally get a sense of like what
we do and maybe it'll light afire and get you on a, an
aviation journey you didn't knowthat you even wanted to start so
SPEAKER_01 (31:18):
absolutely so what's the best way for people to
contact you
SPEAKER_00 (31:22):
yeah get a hold of us our flight training advisor
you'll find all the informationon all in aviation.com schedule
a tour that's that is all
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
in aviation.com a l l i n aviation.com phone number
and website i will list in theshow notes as well
SPEAKER_00 (31:39):
702 all in 22 is our phone number so that's easy yeah
SPEAKER_01 (31:43):
fun
SPEAKER_00 (31:44):
we fly sr 22 The Cirrus, that's the model.
So
SPEAKER_01 (31:47):
you got the 22.
SPEAKER_00 (31:48):
Yeah, all in 22.
And that's my jersey.
Anytime that you see all in 22on the back of a Golden Knights
jersey, it's me.
Now I'm going to know.
SPEAKER_01 (31:57):
I don't even want to know how much you paid for that
phone number.
SPEAKER_00 (32:00):
It was available.
Yeah, it actually worked out.
SPEAKER_01 (32:02):
You can't even get 702 numbers anymore without
paying for them.
Did you know that?
Speaking of our wild city.
Paul, you're amazing.
I can't wait to come check outyour facility.
And until next time.
SPEAKER_00 (32:13):
Go all in.
SPEAKER_01 (32:14):
And that's a wrap.
on this episode of the VegasStrong Revival Podcast.
I hope you found our discussionengaging and even
thought-provoking.
A big shout-out to all of ouramazing listeners for tuning in
and supporting the show becauseit truly means the world to us,
so thank you.
Let's keep the Vegas Strongspirit alive.
Share this podcast with yourfriends, family, colleagues, and
just anyone who loves Vegas.
(32:35):
If you have ideas, suggestions,or want to be a guest on the
show, simply reach out online orfeel free to text us on our
super cool podcast hotline,702-7255.
And of course, don't forget tosubscribe to the show on your
favorite podcast platform so younever miss an episode.
Let's keep pushing theboundaries and reviving our
(32:56):
city's passion for authenticservice together.
Stay strong, Vegas.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com