Remos: Changing the way we sell GA

We’ve all seen the ads of a pilot fishing in a pristine river after landing his airplane nearby.

The problem is, “very few of us have done that,” said Corvin Huber, CEO of Remos (pictured), which manufactures the Remos GX, currently the top-selling LSA in the U.S.

That’s why the company has undertaken a huge research project to change the way aviation is marketed — not just to pilots, but to the world outside of GA.

“Aviation has become incestuous in its marketing,” he said at AirVenture. “We tend to only market to ourselves.”

But to grow, GA needs to prove the utility of aviation to folks who aren’t involved right now.

Remos has teamed with a think tank to dig down to the very basics: Why do people get involved in aviation? And, more important, how can we attract more people to flying?

“We need to provide carefee, ‘no pain’ access to aviation,” he said.

The impetus for the company’s new direction is its new investor, Pall Mall Partners of London, a technology focused investment firm that “successfully implemented innovative marketing ideas in the automotive industry,” Huber said, noting Pall Mall is a “major part of the of the Audi success story.”

“Remos will benefit from this experience and apply it to the aviation realm,” he said.

While selling airplanes is key to Remos’ success, the company’s objective now is to create “meta” products — or products that surround the planes, such as FBOs, flight schools and more.

“We don’t need ratty FBOs and high insurance rates,” he said. “We need a pleasant experience all around.”

He envisions a contemporary environment that is universally accessible — “a place where one is proud to take your friends and family,” he explained.

The Remos Experience Centers are expected to be rolled out later this year in select metropolitan areas, probably in Florida, Texas and California.

“People find it too hard to stay engaged in aviation,” he noted. “If they buy an airplane it is easier, but then there are the insurance nightmares and finding hangar space is tough. We want to create a ‘soft’ environment, a place that provides all these services.”

The company also is concentrating on training, unveiling its Remos Pilot Center program at AirVenture. Remos will provide select flight schools around the country with a comprehensive training program, including customized courseware from Gleim Publishing and a PC-based Remos GX simulator, which is now in development. Remos also will help these centers with national advertising and provide leads to interested pilots through a partnership with Pilot Journey.

The company hopes to have 20 Remos Pilot Centers operating by the end of the year and 150 over the next two years.

Through these efforts, Remos hopes to attract “new players to the game,” Huber said.

“We know there are sufficient people who have dreamed of flying and are financially able, but they think flying is too expensive and time consuming,” he said. “We need to prove that is not true. New blood is needed to make GA grow.”

For more information: Remos.com.