The name is Bond – fractional operator Bond
New fractional operator Bond is the customer behind the 50-aircraft Challenger and Global order that Bombardier revealed in June.
If you know what you are doing, it is possible to perform somersaults from a trampoline during 35mph winds. But it doesn’t look easy.
The wind was so strong that NBAA was forced to close the static display at Henderson Airport, but the show still went on for the launch of Bond, a new fractional jet operator led by Bill Papariella, who sold Jet Edge International, a leading charter operator, to Vista in 2022.
Bond is the customer behind the 50-aircraft Challenger and Global order that Bombardier announced in June. It will get its first aircraft in 2027.
“We are committed to exclusively over scale. So yes, it was a big order, but it’s over time,” said Papariella. “We will strive to be smaller, impactful with personalised service.” Just as significant as the order is the service contract that means that Bombardier will be responsible for all maintenance.
“It was paramount for us to create a service agreement that could last forever. From my Jet Edge days, I was convinced that the OEM could do the maintenance better than I could. You have all the data, you have got all the ways to cut the data. You know when the parts are coming,” said Papariella talking to Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice president, aircraft sales at Bombardier Defense.
Bond has what it is calling an evergreen membership – where owners do not have five-year contracts – and with financing available from the start. It is targeting a maximum of 10 owners to each aircraft (lower than traditional fractionals) and will not offer small jet cards or make its fleet available for charter.
All aircraft will have cabin crew. “We think the flight attendant on every aircraft is a game changer in the service side of it,” said Papariella. “We are looking to have the highest paid crews in the industry. We have the ability to do that with our margins. I want to go out and have an amazing compensation plan for crews.”
Papariella said that he only started talking with Bombardier three months ago.
Before he moved into business aviation, Papariella was a movie producer and there is a touch of Oceans 11 about Bond (although with more gardening leave). A fair number of the Bond team worked with Papariella at Jet Edge and KKR, which is the lead investor. KKR also made a lot of money from investing in Jet Edge before its sale to Vista.
Despite the rushed negotiation, the Bond and Bombardier teams are clearly still getting on. “First of all, a huge thank you for being such an amazing customer, but also for being such a great human being,” said Gallagher.
Because of the wind, a ceremonial champagne toast was restricted to the Bombardier and Bond executives on the stage. But Bombardier was still happy to give Papariella a huge set of scissors to cut a ribbon to open the Bond chalet. These were safely put away and no acrobats were harmed during the launch.
