Aviation industry research firm Conklin & de Decker is making its first Heli-Expo appearance since it was acquired by aircraft maintenance program provider JSSI last spring and installed as a separate unit within JSSI's advisory service division. Conklin is known for its suite of industry products, including a cost-comparison tool, aircraft cost evaluator, life-cycle cost-budgeting program, maintenance tracking, and state tax guide planning tool.

Since then, the companies have been working to roll out several upgrades to the Conklin products. In fact, this week at Heli-Expo (Booth C3423), the company is demonstrating the latest version of its aircraft comparison tool, the Conklin & de Decker Report. “We really want to get to the point in the market where before you are willing to say 'Yes, I will buy that aircraft,' you say 'Show me the Conklin report,'" said Jason Schwab, president of JSSI Advisory Services.

Those reports have seen improvement of late in terms of their presentation, noted Conklin vice president Brandon Battles. “We’re not just providing data anymore, just numbers,” he explained. “We’re also providing graphics that accompany those numbers, so we’re trying to appeal to a larger audience with how we present our information.”

The company is also transitioning from CD-based delivery of its data to web-based access to provide increased flexibility for its users.

Schwab noted the company has also improved its MxManager maintenance tracking program, which is popular among helicopter operators, through the introduction of new software. It allows users to track, organize, and control helicopter maintenance activities and expenses.

“Our philosophy on that was to try to give those in the maintenance department and those that manage the labor department a tool that would help them execute their processes more efficiently, and also control and measure the activity within their department,” Schwab told AIN. The company has been working with its legacy users over the past year to acclimate them to the new platform, which now features a maintenance tracking audit log function, and it is now turning its attention to sales to new users.

“Folks can pay upfront for the software, or we can work out some kind of payment system, where it's more like a service fee as they go through the quarters of the year,” noted Schwab. “We’re trying to make it flexible so that not just large operators can just enjoy this benefit, but also smaller operators that might not have some of the capital resources to get into a program like this.”  

Battles, who joined Conklin from Bell Helicopter, where he served as manager of direct operating cost programs, has noticed a growing trend among rotorcraft operators giving increasing scrutiny to maintenance and operating costs over the past several years. “Prior to that, a lot of people were very interested in the acquisition of an aircraft, what it would cost them to purchase that aircraft, and then you just kind of got the feeling that the operational costs weren’t quite as important.”

He suggests that shift might be due to two factors: the continuing belt-tightening in the industry following the global economic downturn of the last decade and the trend of consolidation. “You have more larger investment-type companies that have come into our industry,” he said citing the EMS market where many smaller operators have been purchased. “I think they require that folks understand their operational costs much better, but then that’s also tied to the recession.”

While segments such as EMS and aerial firefighting may be doing well, Battles believes the rotorcraft industry is still experiencing some headwinds due to the petroleum slump. “So long as oil and gas is still kind of king, I think it influences the activity in our industry quite a bit,” Battles said.

JSSI is also celebrating a major anniversary this year. “As we celebrate 30 years in business, our commitment is to harness three decades of data and experience to continue to develop digital tools and provide our clients with the data and services necessary to make fully informed decisions when purchasing, operating, maintaining, and selling an aircraft,” said Schwab.