CJIQ124: Avfuel, BBJ Select and connectivity research all feature

A profile of aviation fuel company Avfuel, a photographic tour of the BBJ Select business liner and our latest connectivity research all feature in the latest edtion of Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly. Also included is an interview with Darren Broderick, CEO at Asian Corporate Aviation Management and an investigation into why VIP helicopter flights are not more popular with business jet travellers.

Craig Sincock, president and CEO of Avfuel traces the start of his aviation career back to his first day at college. Happening to share a room with two pilots, Sincock taught his roommates tennis and skiing in exchange for flying lessons. Now, his company Avfuel fuels one-in-three business jets every day and employs a team of 1,000 people. We trace how Sincock, aided by family and colleagues built the company based on his principle: “Aufuel’s business is less about fuel and more about simplifying things for its customers.”

From fuel to one of the aircraft it powers. Boeing’s new BBJ Select jet is the easiest way to acquire this popular business liner. We take a virtual tour of the aircraft’s luxurious interior with this photo feature guide. Choosing the interior for an 884sqft (82sqm) Boeing Business Jet 737-7 is the equivalent of outfitting a whole apartment. The manufacturer’s BBJ Select product is intended for people who want an aircraft with a streamlined design process.

A streamlined service from business jet to VIP helicopter transfer flights is growing in popularity – a bit. But some high-net worth individuals are still wary of choosing rotary transportation. We look at the advantages and how companies such as HeliFlite, Flexjet Helicopters and Castle Air are reassuring prospective clients.

After rotary aircraft we move to tiltwings, with a feature looking at how new life is being breathed into an old design. Peter Schmidt, chief operating officer and co-founder of Transcend tells us how h plans to whisk passengers from Manhattan to Boston in just 32 minutes for a ticket price of $283 – cheaper than an Uber.

Business jet connectivity is the theme of new CJI research designed to understand how owners and operators select a solution for their aircraft. Consistency and reliability are the top two factors jet owners and operators take into consideration before equipping their aircraft with a connectivity solution, according to our research, conducted in partnership with Intelsat. Read more about these influencers and the third factor guiding connectivity choices in our feature.

Meanwhile, satisfied clients are the main motivation for Darren Broderick, CEO at Asian Corporate Aviation Management (ACAM). An aviator with more than 18,000 hours in his log books and a rescue award, Broderick has put his flying career on hold to take ACAM on “a rocket ride” towards the West. “It’s about success, it’s not about money. Success and customer satisfaction, they are my mottos,” he tells us.

Elsewhere in the latest edition of Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly, Gulfstream president, Mark Burns shares his excitement about the first transatlantic flight fueled entirely by SAF in a G600. Plus our Jet Data feature includes three new business jets: the Boeing Select, the Cessna Citation CJ3 New Gen and the Honda Echelon.

Finally, in our Life in seven questions feature, Iris Riesen, accountable manager at the Zurich-based Cat Aviation explains how the smell of kerosene and the excitement of business aviation lured her back into the industry after a spell away.

Read the digital version of Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly here and sign up for your free print copy here. And if you know colleagues who might enjoy reading our business aviation insights, please share these links with them. If you would like us to tackle a particular topic in our next edition, please let us know. Thank you.