Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

The U.S. aerospace industry is on track for maintaining last year’s record export sales, but the lack of a fully functioning Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank remains “a source of great frustration,” Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO David Melcher said late last week.

 


In his final AIA annual media luncheon address at the helm of the association, Melcher noted the U.S. aerospace industry reached a record $90 billion in civil aircraft, space systems and military systems export sales in 2016, adding that this year appears on par with those numbers. Further, gross exports have increased 52 percent over the past five years.

 


But he cautioned success of sales doesn’t give the complete picture. At the same time, the U.S. industry is facing growing and fierce competition, he said. “It is hard to believe that the U.S. still doesn’t have a fully functioning Export-Import Bank.”

 


The bank is still lacking a full complement of directors and is unable to sign off on export deals valued at more than $10 million. This has had a tangible impact, Melcher said, pointing out that in the five years from 2011 to 2015 when Ex-Im was fully operating, the bank supported an average of $9.5 billion in export sales a year. That figure is now just 0.6 percent of that total—$57 million annually.

 


“Think about the deals we are leaving on the table for our competitors to take unopposed,” he said. “Why do some in Congress consider this state of affairs acceptable?”

 


He estimated that $30 billion worth of deals are being held up. “That’s $30 billion worth of jobs.” He also wondered about opposition to the Ex-Im Bank, given 86 countries have similar entities.

 


While pushing for a quorum, Melcher continued to express reservation about the nomination of former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-New Jersey) to head the Ex-Im, given his past opposition to the bank.&nbsp;He questioned how someone could “lead an organization you don’t believe in.”

Melcher: Ex-Im Woes Dampening Strong Export Growth

The U.S. is achieving record exports, but $30 billion in deals are being held up by a lack of a quorum at Ex-Im.

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