Behind The Wheel™ Profile #2: Samantha Onnen, GM of Santa Barbara Airbus
We’d like to introduce you to Samantha Onnen, General Manager of Santa Barbara Airbus, which is located in sunny Santa Barbara, California.
Santa Barbara Airbus provides 8 daily round trips to and from LAX, private charter buses and specialty planned Day Trips such as taking a group to a show or a museum
Founding Story
Santa Barbara Airbus was founded in 1983 when Eric and Kelly Onnen partnered up with Mark Klopstein. Kelly was a flight attendant and was routinely commuting from Santa Barbara to LAX to get back to her main hub. Eric and Kelly went to visit her family in Canada and saw a shuttle that was bringing people from a smaller town to a bigger city airport, the idea was born, realizing this service was needed back in the states. The three of them got together and worked out of Eric and Kelly’s living room to get it off the ground, starting out driving the shuttles themselves.
How did you get involved in the business?
Eric and Kelly are my parents, so I grew up around the business. I always had a passion for hospitality and pursued a career in hotel management. I was working long hours and realized that my value wasn’t what I wanted it to be at my current company. One day, I called my Dad and convinced him to give me a shot. I wanted to work for a company that valued its employees and listened to their voice, Airbus is just that.
Industry Perspective
What’s your favorite thing about what you do?
The people! I love the people that I get to work with, the people in this industry, and the people that we get to help accomplish their transportation goals.
What do you believe will change about the industry when travel begins to rebound?
I think there will be a level of fear that hangs around the industry, travel in general. We will have to look at our service and make sure we are providing the safest service, it might mean continuing distancing on the bus, or providing masks and other protective gear. Anything that we can do to help our customers and staff feel safe.
I also believe that the human “touch”, the personal side of the business will be more important than ever. We will need our customers and staff to know that they are cared about and that we value them! I think that one thing this situation has proved to us is how much we crave that human connection and we must ensure we foster that moving forward.
What do you believe needs to change about the industry?
I would love to see more young people coming into the industry. The bus industry isn’t a “sexy” industry for younger people to think about, but buses are sexy! We provide a valuable service, are a better environmental choice, and have a level of personal connection that is missing from so much of the travel industry. I would also love to see more women in the industry, across the board. We need more female drivers; we need more women running and leading at companies in this industry! That might be selfish on my part, but I believe that needs to be a focus for most industries
How will technology shape this industry?
I love this question! The motorcoach industry has been slower to adopt technology into its normal operations. In the last few years, we have seen a huge spike! Electronic logs, mobile ticketing systems, more advanced booking software, the works. Technology will be incredibly important for us to stay relevant. The younger travelers crave it, they want a smooth booking process that does not require picking up the phone, a mobile boarding pass, and an easy check-in process. Anything that we can do to make operations more efficient should also be looked at! I think that the most important part will be balancing technology and the human touch. We as an industry, and maybe even a society, can not lose the human element. There is no better feeling than picking up the phone and getting a hold of a real person that can answer your questions. Finding that balance will be tricky but is so important!
If you could sum up the motorcoach industry in one word, what would it be?
Family. For me personally it represents working with my family but also building a new one. This industry has so many families that have built up the business and that is so cool to me! It is also about having a sense of family and community for your staff and customers!
Coronavirus & Buses
How has COVID-19 affected your business?
We have seen a huge impact from COVID-19. All our operations are currently suspended, we have laid off our staff, and are just working with a skeleton crew to keep the basic operations going and make sure there is a business for everyone to come back to.
What are some creative ways you’re navigating this health and economic crisis?
We are looking at our market and how best to serve it whether that’s changing existing routes or offering new ones altogether. We are also looking at when we reopen what is the highest level of service we can offer to continue to ensure the safety of passengers/
Rapid Fire
Assuming social distancing and isolating wasn’t mandatory right now. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world (alive), who would it be and what would you eat?
Easy question, my family! My sister, brother in law, and nephew live in AZ so I would have a big family dinner! We would probably eat steak, that’s usually an Onnen go too.
If you could only survive off of one food during this quarantine period, what would it be?
Bacon, it makes everything better!
What is one silver lining of quarantining?
I think the ability to slow down has been important, and the shift back to local! I have been getting a local veggie bag once a week that has been amazing. I feel so grateful for my community and what it provides us! It doesn’t hurt that I’m in sunny Santa Barbara too!
Who is your favorite actor/actress?
I honestly have no idea, but I have always had a major crush on John Krasinski and I love what he is doing to showcase positivity during this scary time.
Favorite U.S. city to visit?
Austin, TX, but my favorite is coming home to Santa Barbara
What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Cook, snuggle with my dog, read, drink wine! During this quarantine it has been stress baking, eating, drinking, repeat!
Company Info
Employee Count: 50–60 employees
Fleet Size: 16 motorcoaches and 3 mini-coaches
About Busie
Busie is the leading software company empowering charter operators to compete in an increasingly digital landscape while helping charter sales teams save over 50% of their time in the quoting process and book more charter business. For COVID-19 we are offering our instant quoting and operator sales platform completely free until the industry begins to return to normal. Want to get started today? Reach out at hello@getbusie.com or fill out our form here.
