Staying ahead of the tech shaping industry is ‘biggest challenge’ says Execaire Aviation chief

Keeping ahead of the technology curve changing the business aviation industry is the biggest challenge Execaire Aviation faces today, according to president Michael Fedele.  

Although he sees the task as a positive, the investment in time, people and money to ensure Canada’s longest-standing aircraft management company stays relevant is significant, said Fedele.  

“I don’t want to just bang the drum of AI [artificial intelligence]. Technology as a whole has the potential to change everything from the interactions that we have with clients, how they make decisions, to how we present them information to be able to make those decisions, and how we execute on these decisions,” he explained. 

“We cannot be sitting on our laurels. We have to constantly be on top of things and staying out in front. And that’s a challenge. It’s a positive one, but it’s a challenge,” added Fedele. 

Execaire Aviation has been in operation for more than 70 years. The foundations of the modern-day company were created in 1955 when John Timmins founded Timmins Aviation as an FBO in Dorval, Quebec. 

Fedele said the company leans on this experience to ensure it “stays relevant” in what is a relatively small global and domestic market. 

“I still have employees here that have been working for us for over 40 years. That is one of the things that sets us apart,” he explained. “We use the experience of our history and our team and we marry that with the technology of today. Right now we’re working on a number of AI initiatives, some of which will roll out in version five of our app.” The updated app is set to be released later this year. 

Execaire Aviation is Canada’s only IS-BAO Stage 3 and Argus Platinum Elite operator. Fedele believes this speaks to the firm’s “laser-focus” on safety. “We put safety first and foremost in all of our operations, be it air operations, charter, maintenance or FBO. We have a fully integrated safety management system across all aspects of our business for our clients,” he said. 

The operator also runs emergency response plan exercises twice a year. Additionally, it has joint operating procedures integrated with all of its clients. “It is a very evolved operational system that we’re constantly improving and refining with the latest technologies and knowledge out there,” he noted. 

Roots of the operation  

Fast-forward from the early days of Timmins Aviation, Fedele joined Execaire Aviation in 2009 as vice president and general manager. He previously worked at CAE for a decade following a career in the Canadian Air Force and multiple roles as a flight test engineer and instructor.  

At that time, the company was known as Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group. Innotech Aviation was acquired by Kenneth Rowe’s IMP Group in 1988. It then bought Execaire in the early 1990s.   

Fedele was appointed president in 2018 and the company rebranded in 2023 as Execaire Aviation in an effort to provide more clarity on the range of services it offers, including aircraft sales, management, charter, maintenance and FBO services.  

IMP also acquired other companies like Pacific Avionics, to build out an avionics capability, as well as Image Air, which was a Canadian aircraft management charter operator and then Skycharter, a charter and FBO operatorin Toronto, which forms another “major component” of today’s business.  

“Those were all brought together through the ‘90s and up through the 2020s. Now we have a cohesive offering to bring to the marketplace for aircraft sales, aircraft management operations, charters, brokerage, charter brokerage and MRO activity, including paint,” said Fedele. 

Execaire Aviation also conducts pre-delivery support for Bombardier, including painting the majority of the Canadian OEM’s Global 5500 and 6500 aircraft.  

Today Execaire Aviation manages a fleet of about 35 aircraft. 

Business split and growth  

The business split across Execaire Aviation is “quite proportional”. Combining aircraft management and charter into one, “because they’re symbiotic”, Fedele explained that along with MRO and FBO activities, these are three “well-balanced” contributors to the firm’s overall business.  

“Aircraft sales is a fourth pillar that we offer both to the third-party market and our managed clients,” he said. “And so that’s an entirely separate operation, and it tends to be a smaller part of our business, but still a very, very important part.” 

Fedele said the company’s divisions and offerings have been rolled out over time through acquisition and greenfield growth. “It’s been a very thoughtful and specific growth strategy that has gotten us to where we are now, I’m very proud of what Execaire Aviation is,” he noted. 

There has been a marked trend over the past decade as many companies look to expand their service offering, striving towards a comprehensive solution. Execaire Aviation is a company that fits that description, however its journey to this point began way back in the 20th century. 

“Execaire is Canada’s first aircraft management company, stood up in the ‘60s,” said Fedele. “Back then there was not anywhere near as many third party service offerings as exist today. So in order to effectivey operate globally, a lot of those capabilities were built from inside the company.” 

Fedele said Execaire Aviation has continued on that trajectory of fully integrating its service offering and driving development through “innovative principles and practices”. 

“We’re the only air operator in Canada that offers its clients its own app that provides them with a number of great services and functionality through the app,” he explained. “We think we’re extremely competitive with what we have, because we have that depth of experience honed over decades.” 

Staying relevant  

By the same token, it can be a challenge to stay relevant when you have been in the trenches for more than 70 years. Fedele is clear Execaire Aviation is a “leading edge” company built on legacy.   

“We listen to our clients,” he said. “At the end of the day, they have a need and our role, regardless of what line of business we’re dealing in, is to meet that need in the most effective and efficient way possible for them. You can’t do that if you’re not listening to them.” 

Fedele explained that the Execaire Aviation team “works hard” at client outreach and surveying feedback from customers. “We take that information in, we take it seriously and we work to improve based on the feedback that they give us,” he added. 

Shaped by Canada  

Canada is a vast geography, roughly 3.85m square miles. Travel patterns in the country have traditionally seen more people voyage north-south rather than east-west. That said, to be a large operator in Canada means operating internationally. 

“If you’re a Canadian air operator, you’re looking at doing a large proportion of your flying into the US, into the Caribbean, into Europe to some degree, into South America, and more recently in the last decade or two, into Asia,” said Fedele. 

“You have to become an expert in international operations if you’re going to be a significant operator in Canada. This is different from the US where you could be a large operator with not a lot of international experience,” he added.  

Execaire Aviation has stood up a dedicated 24/7 operations centre to assist international flying. Fedele said this goes back to “our roots” when the company couldn’t rely on an outsourced service.   

Combining its safety mechanisms and processes, Execaire Aviation offers what it calls Executive Aviation Vigilance. “It’s our programme for ensuring asset safety and client safety, not just through our safety management system, but through the physical safety of the asset and decision making on the best routes to take, the best places to leave airplanes, when we need to put security on the ground, et cetera. 

“Being a Canadian operator, it drives us to be innovative, it drives us to be creative, and it’s not a large market. If you want to succeed, you have to be client-focused,” he said. 

What success will look like 

Looking to the next five years, Fedele said success looks like increased “client satisfaction” and “growth”. 

However, he warned growth can be “problematic” if a company grows too fast and doesn’t apply growth strategy to the right area of the business. 

“Growing is obviously every business’s primary focus,” he said. “For us, it’s about growth while maintaining that high level of client experience, and balancing those two together.” 

Aircraft management is a step function, according to Fedele. He said it is possible to start an aircraft management business and deal with a couple airplanes. “You could probably do that half well if you understand aviation and you understand air operations,” he explained. “But after you get to a certain number of airplanes, it’s not going to work for your clients. There are stages between zero and 10 aircraft, then 10 to 18, then up to 30, a little over 30 and then up to 50. At each stage, you need to have a capability set.” 

Fedele said aircraft managers need to have the infrastructure, processes, methodology and organisation to be able to deal with that volume effectively.  

“You’re there to satisfy your client’s needs, but it becomes very challenging to keep focused on those if you’re not well organised for that volume,” he concluded. “You’ve got to be judicious about how you grow and where you grow.”