Corporate Jet Investor

Kompass Kapital Management, LLC announces investment in Airshare Global investment group Kompass Kapital Management, LLC announced investment in Kansas City-based private aviation company Airshare to help grow its business and expand its fleet of aircraft. “We are thrilled to have Kompass Kapital join the Airshare ownership group and strongly believe its investment will have a material impact on our future,” said John Owen, CEO, Airshare. Read full below. https://lnkd.in/e_hn2zcA

Aviation Hires: Global Jet Capital appoints Tom Kacin as VP sales, Northeastern and Midwest US Global Jet Capital has appointed Thomas Kacin as vice president, Sales for the Northeastern and Midwest US. The company is also realigning its North American sales territories to capitalise on market opportunities. An equipment financing expert, Kacin will be pivotal in developing relationships and supporting clients across the Northeast and Midwest, according to the company. He will report to Mike Christie, Jr. who became head of Sales for the Americas in March. Commenting on his new role Kacin said: “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to help both corporate and UHNWI [Ultra High Net Worth Individual] clients benefit from the innovative and customised financing solutions Global Jet Capital offers for the business aviation market.” Alongside the appointment, the company is reorganising its North American sales territories. Hannah Davis, formerly vice president of Sales for the Eastern US, will now lead the newly-formed Southeastern US region. John Arlinghaus, formerly associate sales director of the central US region, will now oversee the Western US region and Latin America. Full story via the link. tinyurl.com/bddz5e2y #AviationHires #businessaviation #aviationappointments #aviationfinance #aviationrecruitment #aviationfinance #jetfinance #jetsales

Whether it is making new connections with a cocktail by the pool, enjoying an ice cream together during the afternoon break or scoring a hole-in-one during the Annual Golf Challenge, there is something for everyone during CJI Miami. We believe the networking is just as important as the content. You can meet those involved in your current and future transactions. And the weather is a plus!🌞 🏝 Fontainebleau Miami Beach 🗓 November 12 & 13 (conference days) with ice breaker receptions on November 11 ✈ https://lnkd.in/e_R2B_mF #CJIMiami #bizav #businessaviation

Aviation hires: Gulfstream appoints new sustainability chief Gulfstream Aerospace has appointed Smitha Hariharan as vice president and chief sustainability officer (CSO). In the newly-created role of CSO, Hariharan will drive the manufacturer’s “sustainable transformation” and align its business strategies with sustainability principles.   Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream welcomed Hariharan to her new role, which begins immediately. “Sustainability continues to be a major focus for our company and the business aviation industry”, he said. “Gulfstream is committed to supporting [parent company] General Dynamics’ goal of reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2034, relative to 2019.” Hariharan’s expertise will help the OEM accelerate the pace of its sustainability progress, said Burns. “We look forward to the insights and knowledge she will bring as we continue to lead the industry in our efforts.” He added: “Gulfstream is innovating for a sustainable future. We are committed to doing our part in advancing the industry forward to achieve our shared sustainability goals.” Meanwhile, Hariharan joins Gulfstream from Haliburton where she served as the global head of sustainability for Halliburton Energy Services. Full story via the link. tinyurl.com/ym9kntjv #Aviationhires #sustainability #aviationsustainability #businessaviation #businessjets #aviation

One Minute Week: Pilot shortages – plateau in sight? Worries about the availability of pilots have plagued the industry for years. But there are signs that the much-feared shortfall in qualified pilots for business and commercial aviation could be levelling out. There’s a range of evidence to consider. Most recently, reports last month that Wheels Up laid off more than 10% of its pilots blaming staffing imbalance. Also, the much-reported pause in commercial airline hiring is understood to have played a role. But how much does this reflect Wheels Up’s individual situation and what, if any light, does its cast on the availability of commercial pilots in general? “Wheels Up has reduced its fleet size and primary service area, which would indeed make them overstaffed,” Brian Foley, founder and principal of consultancy Brian Foley Associates (BRiFO) tells CJI. “Flight revenues have also decreased suggesting fewer flight hours flown.” It’s likely to have been exacerbated by the continuous reduction in US charter utilisation, which the recent ARGUS report estimates to have fallen by 5.3% year-on-year, he adds. So, taken together, the latest evidence could suggest aviation – both business and commercial – is seeing significant improvement in the availability of pilots to fly its aircraft. Foley puts it like this: “This, [slowdown in charter] combined with airline and freight carrier pilot hiring pauses, slowdowns and furloughs suggests a plateau in the pilot shortage and more available cockpit crew members.” One unexpected silver lining to the supply chain cloud plaguing aviation is a beneficial impact on the supply of pilots. Boeing’s and Airbus’s inability to deliver new airliners in quantity will also have a positive impact on pilot availability, thinks Foley of BRiFO. It is a point picked up by Mike Stengel, principal of consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory. “There is still a shortage of pilots in the medium term due to unfavourable demographics,” he says. “But airlines are getting some temporary relief because they can't get new airplanes fast enough, which has thus slowed down their hiring plans compared to the frenzy we saw in 2022 and 2023.” The key word here for Stengel is “temporary”. Whatever the short-term challenges, the long-term direction of travel is clear. “As production rates increase at Airbus and Boeing, and Boeing also sorts through its own issues, we expect pilot hiring at major US airlines to accelerate again which will create ripple effects throughout the industry,” he argues. “This eventually translates into higher attrition at regional airlines and the business and general aviation segment that Wheels Up plays in since major airlines are often viewed as career destinations.” Read the full story - including why Air Line Pilots Association thinks fears of a pilot shortage are overstated - via the link. tinyurl.com/4uk9zbmz #OneMinuteWeek #aircrew #pilotshortage #aircrewtraining #pilottraining #aviation #businessaviation

Navigating aircraft tax benefits and deductions in the post-Chevron world The advantage enjoyed by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over aircraft owners and operators has been dramatically clipped, writes Gary Horowitz, founder, member at law firm HCH Legal. Aircraft tax benefits and deductions are primarily controlled by US Treasury Department Regulations, which are generally pro-taxation and favour the Internal Revenue Service over business aircraft use. However, a recent Supreme Court ruling now instructs federal courts to not defer to Treasury Regulations interpreting “ambiguous” statutes. Unsurprisingly, many tax laws are ambiguous. Business aircraft owners/operators have new tools to respond to aggressive tax enforcement, including the IRS’s new enhanced business aircraft audit programme. Under the old rule, called ‘Chevron deference’, after the 1984 Supreme Court decision in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) federal courts were required to defer their own judgement to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous law passed by Congress. However, the Supreme Court has overruled Chevron by its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, where the Supreme Court held that federal courts are required to exercise their independent discretion in deciding whether a federal agency has acted within its statutory authority, and federal courts shall not defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous. This opens the door to new pushback on overly broad aircraft tax regulations and the opportunity for taxpayers to improve the tax treatment of their aircraft. Read the full story via the link. tinyurl.com/msh4rnkx #aviationfinance #businessjets #privatejets #UStaxlaw #aircaft #aircraftownership

What makes your world go around? Some things float people’s boats, some things make people say: stop the world I want to get off. Each of these sayings are used to create a feeling of content or dissatisfaction with events, writes Jay Mesinger, president and CEO, Mesinger Jet Sales - A Legacy of Aviation Innovation. I took some time to ask several of my fellow aircraft sales professionals what they are feeling based on the current business climate or what they are hearing from their clients. They all felt that the industry was moving in a positive direction for themselves and their clients. Prices were holding in a way that, although down slightly and still moving incrementally in that direction, did not provoke anyone to fear that the bottom was dropping out. Each felt that the value their clients see in aircraft ownership was continuing, and demand was remaining strong. In talking to our clients, thinking about not having the private travel solution that they have, was not a serious contemplation. Of course, there are always discussions taking place internally and externally amongst their clients’ companies, flight departments, or friends who are operating aircraft. Generally, the one topic that garners the most attention is operating costs. The salaries of flight department personnel have risen dramatically over the past few years. These people are vital to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of these assets. However, the increase in their cost has created greater visibility, thus invigorating the discussions. Not sure these will ever change in a downward direction, as service providers can be one of the stickiest forms of inflation. Subjects that make a few people say: stop the world I want to get off, centre around the disruption of use caused by the ever-present supply chain issues. Labour is top of that list. The shortages of experienced personnel at the manufacturers and MRO and maintenance facilities are continuing to cause serious discomfort for all. Just yesterday I had a client tell me about a six-week delay in the scheduled modernisation completion date for their aircraft. What used to be 30–45 days for a prebuy could easily now be a 60-day process. So, to help the client or prospect ease their frustration, we are all being very careful with this delicate discussion of timing to adjust to a new norm of expectations. These strategies can only be band-aids simply due to the fact that we, as aircraft brokers, can have very little impact on a solution for supply chains and labour shortages. Read the full story - including Jay Mesinger's conclusions about the current state of the market - va the link. tinyurl.com/ye37vsr2 #aircraftsales #aviationfinance #businessaviation #preownedjetsales #privatejets

From September 16-18, senior executives will hear from a diverse range of 50+ speakers, participate in 24+ interactive sessions, and enjoy 12+ hours of networking with like-minded individuals passionate about shaping the future of the Asian business aviation market. If this sounds like something you want to be involved in, then you need to register for CJI Asia! Plus, it is just before the Singapore GP if you want to make the trip even more worthwhile... https://lnkd.in/ek_xtqk3 #CJIAsia #businessaviation #bizav

Some great insights from Matt Rosanvallon, sales and acquisitions director at Freestream Aircraft Limited about the current market and predications for 2024. [Attending CJI Miami is] "great fun, great networking, great opportunity to build on our deals" 🙌 CJI Miami is a premium event for dealmakers, gathering those invovled in buying and selling business jets. Will we see you in November? #CJIMiami #businessaviation #bizav #privatejetsales #aircraftbroker

📢 Announcement 📢 Corporate Jet Investor London is returning, February 3-5, to welcome over 570 senior-level attendees from more than 40 countries who are leading the future of business aviation. On the back of a sold-out 2024 event, we suggest you get your tickets quickly to avoid disappointment. Prices start from £1829.00 inc VAT and we offer multiple delegate discounts. Don't be grounded by foolishness—missing out on CJI London 2025 would be a major flight risk! 😉 Secure your tickets below: https://lnkd.in/ek_9PMyb #CJILondon #BizAv #BizAvEvent