International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance 2014: Live Blog – Day Two
The business jet finance panel at International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance Conference 2014.
Corporate Jet Investor brings you more live coverage from International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance 2014 in London. Please refresh the page for the latest updates.
The business jet finance panel at International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance Conference 2014.
Summary
- The second day of International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance 2014 focuses on the business jet market and broadly covers the availability of business jet finance.
- Speakers include David Baxt from Wheels Up, Ian Moore from VistaJet and a number of leading aircraft lenders.
- For more updates, follow @CorpJetInvestor and @BizJetBlogger on Twitter.
Live feed
18.12 That’s it for today. Join us tomorrow as we discuss the international helicopter market.
18.10 The results of the Corporate Jet Investor Awards 2014 are as follows:
African Financier: Investec
Middle Eastern Financier: Deutsche Bank
New Financier: Element Capital
European Financier: Bank of America/CIT
Private Bank: Credit Suisse/UBS
Aircraft of the Year: Gulfstream G650
Deal of the Year: Wheels Up’s $100 million debt facility/IALT pre-delivery payment facility
17.52 Stay tuned for the results of the Corporate Jet Investor Awards 2014, which should be announced around 18.00.
16.22
In Europe there are over 300 operators of aircraft – only about 15 of which have more than 10 aircraft #CJI14 @CorpJetInvestor
— B Capital (@BCapital_) February 5, 2014
14.56 O’Sullivan says that Ireland is the birthplace of aircraft leasing.
14.54 As Aoife O’ Sullivan from Kennedys addresses the room, 36 per cent strongly agree that VAT is putting the business jet industry at a disadvantage, while 26 per cent just agree.
14.32 Speaking this morning, David Baxt, co-founder and president of Wheels Up, said: “Nothing is more aspirational than private aviation.” Watch a video clip from his presentation on Wheels Up below.
12.57 Last vote before lunch:
Over 80 per cent say aircraft buyers should use engine maintenance programmes
Over 70 per cent say aircraft buyers should use aircraft maintenance programmes
12.48 “Aircraft are designed to fly and engines to turn and burn,” says James Carroll, director of business development at JSSI. He explains that aircraft should be stored in accordance with industry guidance and should meet inspection requirements.
11.50 Time for another vote. During the registry panel we asked attendees: What’s the most important thing when choosing an aircraft registry?
29 per cent say legal systems
25 per cent say tax
24 per cent say customer service
11.32 Watch this time-lapse video of delegates filing into the Royal Garden Hotel this morning.
10.56 Ian Moore, COO of VistaJet, says the company’s US partnership with Wheels Up and Jet Aviation is “incredibly important.” Moore also says that the company was torn between Bombardier and Gulfstream when selecting aircraft for its fleet, but decided on the former.
10.45 The room is split 50/50 (using our interactive voting system) over whether fractional jet ownership still works.
10.40 David Baxt, president of Wheels Up, says the company sees Europe as a huge opportunity for the King Air 350i – which currently makes up the majority of Wheels Up’s aircraft fleet – based on the proximity between cities. 69 per cent of attendees agrees that it’s a good idea for Wheels Up to move into Europe.
09.15 The first vote of the day has been cast and 66 per cent of the room says there is a shortage of business jet finance, particularly for operators and older/smaller aircraft. Michael Rentsch, head of aviation finance at Credit Suisse, says: “They’re probably right.”
09.10 International Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance 2014 is back in spite of one of the worst tube strikes to hit London in years. We start the day with a panel of leading aircraft financiers from AFC – which recently closed a deal of VistaJet’s Thomas Flohr – BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and UBS.
